
Book_ti':(JALa^, 



/ 



RECOLLECTIONS 

OF 

THE LIFE 

OF THE LATE RIGHT HONORABLE 

CHARLES JAMES FOX; 

EXHIBITING 

A faithful Account of the most Remarkable Events of 

HIS POLITICAL CAREER, .^ ., ^ 

AND . ,, 

A Delineation of his Character 

AS A 

STATESMAN, SENATOR, & MAN OF FASHION. 

COMPREHENDING 

NUMEROUS ANECDOTES 

Of his Public and Private Life ; 

AND 

AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE CEREMONIES 

Which took place at 

HIS FUNERAL 

IN WESTMINSTER A B B E Y . ,<'^^7^ 

On the lOth October, 1806. ;;^^ ■■'^' 

BY B. C. WALPOLE, ESQ. ' [< ^ 



TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

THE CHARACTJEH OF MR. F((p' 

BY R. B. SHERIDAN, ESQ. 



ml 



JVEW.YORK: 



PRINTED FOR E. SARGEANT, 3 9 WALL-STREET i 
R B. HOPUINS AND CO. WM. P. FARRAND, PHILADEL- 
PHIA ; AND GEO. HILL, BALTIMORE. 
1807. 

Printed by D. & G. Bruce, 



PREFACE. 



THE author of the following pages has not 
the presumption to present thern to the public as 
containing a complete and finished biogiaphy of 
the distinguished character of whom they treat. 
He knows how impossible it would be to do jus- 
tice, in the compass within which he has limited 
his labors, to a m.an who, for so many years, has 
filled such a considerable space in the political 
history of this country. His object was rather to 
exhibit such traits of his private character, and 
to rescue from oblivion such facts, as are calcu- 
lated to inform and to interest not only the states- 
man and politician, but every one who is endued 
with the feelings of a man. 

Some, there probably are, and among the rest 
the more immediate friends of Mr. Fox, who 
may probably be disposed to censure the author 
for introducing into these Sketches various cir- 
cumstances which are far from reflecting credit 
either on his morals or his principles. Disclaim- 
ing, however, every feeling of malignity 
prejudice, he has no hesiL:ik)n to decl-xv: his 
hope that these details, though obnoxious ta 



- PREFACS- 

some, may prove of utility to others. If but one 
fond parent, gratifying every whim and every ca- 
price of his darling child, is led by the example 
of I'ox's dissipation and extravagance to reflect 
on the consequences of his weak and injurious 
indulgence—if but one youth, ready to plunge 
into the vortex of fashionable follies and vices, 
is induced to pause and consider the inevitable 
riun in which they must sooner or later involve 
Jaim-— his failings and his deviations will not 
have been recorded in vain. The example of 
Mr. Fox during his life was surely productive 
<vf ^ome mischievous eifects — ^but happy will it 
he if after his death it should operate beneficially 
for those who survive. 

While the author, in common with every in- 
genuous mind, deplores that misapplication of 
time and talents, that unconquerable propensity 
to gaming, perhaps the most pernicious of amuse- 
ments, and that disregard of character for which 
this distinguished senator and statesman was so 
notorious — while he laments that a man who made 
such a conspicuous figure on the theatre of life 
should be so indifferent to every moral obligation 
as to continue those degenerate and licentious 
pursuits, v^^hich the thoughtlessness and inexpe- 
rience of youth might palliate, but which in ma- 
turer years are wholly inexcusable— he cannot at 
the same time forbear exulting in the splendor of 
his talents, in the patriotism, the energ}^, the firm- 
ness,, and the perseverance which he displayed 



PREFACE. V 

on so many occasions. Equally remote from pre- 
judice and partiality, he trusts that he shall not 
be found to depart .from that rigid justice and 
that candor which every biographer ought to ob- 
serve. 

The author's limits precluded his entering so 
much into the detail of the political transactions 
in which Mr. Fox was concerned, as might be 
w^ishedby some. He can nevertheless affirm with 
confidence, that no occurrence of any importance 
is omitted. Though the measures which he de- 
fended or opposed, may be treated with too much 
brevity for the professed politician, yet the notice 
of them will be found sufficiently ample to satisfy 
the general reader. 

Few men possessing such eminent literary at- 
tainments, such brilliant talents, and such an ar- 
dent mind, have written less than Mr. Fox. Be- 
sides his Letter to the Electors of Westminster, 
no other avowed production of his pen is in exist- 
ence, except a few poetical pieces, the principal 
of which will be found in the subsequent pages. 
In a country like ours, which is constantly divi- 
ded by political parties, who deal out against each 
other censure, abuse, and calumny, with very 
liberal hands, it is extremely difficult to distin- 
guish between falsehood and truth. It cannot be 
surprising that a man who by the boldness of his 
assertions, and the characteristic openness of his 
disposition, exposed himself so much to misrepre- 
sentation, should have been traduced and villified 
A 2 



VI PREPACE. 

by men whose judgments were warped by the 
spirit of party,, or whose minds were swayed by 
motives of interest. It is easy to conceive the 
embarrassment in which this must often involve 
the honest biographer, anxious to keep clear of the 
detractions of malevolence on the one hand, and 
of the exaggeration of partiality on the other. Such 
is the line of conduct adopted by the author in the 
following sheets ; and though it may probably not 
procure the approbation either of the parti zans of 
Mr. Fox, or of his political adversaries, yet it is 
the only one that he could possibly reconcile to 
his own feelings. 

To all those who wish to form their judgment 
of a man, not by the party to which he belongs, but 
from his actions and the motives that produced 
them — who, not dazzled by vice, however splen- 
did the garb she may assume, still dare to call 
her b}^ her real name — who estimate the merit 
of a man not by empty and unmeaning professions, 
with whatever apparent sincerity they may be 
delivered, but by the good he has actually per- 
formed, the benefits he has conferred, either by 
precept or example, on the community of which 
he is member — the author presumes to recom- 
mend his labours. Indifferent alike to the cen- 
sure and praise of others, it is the approbation of 
such alone that he is solicitous to obtain. Should 
he be so fortunate as to gain their suffrages, he 
will sit down contented with having thus accom- 
jpUshed the highest object of his honest ambition. 

B. C. W. 



7 



RECOLLECTIONS 

OF 

THE LIFE 

OF 

Tke kte Right Honourable 

CHARLES JAMES FOX. 



IT would be unnecessary to expatiate on the impor- 
tance of a just and impartial investigation of the 
conduct of all great public characters, whose talents 
have raised them to distinction and eminence ; or to 
enforce this argument, that they are more or less es- 
timable in proportion as the exercise of those talents 
tends to promote the welfare and happiness of man- 
kind. To judge them with justice and impartiality, 
we must not, however, take their words but their ac- 
tions as the criterion of their merits. Conformably 
to this standai'd it is impossible to consider any one 
an estimable public character, whose conduct in pri- 
vate life daily belies the professions which he is giv- 
ing to the world. He should hold forth in his own 
person an example of those virtues, which are the 
themes of his panegyric, before he can reckon on any 
good effect as the result of his advice. This consis- 
tency of principle not only entitles a man to public 
faith, but also to public esteem. 

It has been asserted by many celebrated writers 
that civilized society is more or less happy atcording 



as its leaders are virtuous and good. It is urkloubl- 
cdly to the higher orders that the inferior classes 
naturally look up for example, for a guide by whicli 
to regulate their conduct and their actions. If, in- 
stead of finding an incentive to virtue, they discover 
nothing but vice,^ profligacy and dissipation, can we 
wonder if, under such circumstances, public virtue 
should become extinct ? — If a nation once famous for 
honour, integrity, and every quality that can dignify 
and adorn human nature, should sink into that state 
of degradation, of which the pages of history record 
so many melancholy examples ? 

No patriotic mind can reflect without some feeling 
of anxiety, if not of alarm, on the mortality which 
in less than one short year has bereit Britain of so 
many of her brightest ornaments — warriors, states- 
men, and legislators. In this number we find a 
CoRNWALLis, whose prudence, wisdom and experi- 
ence, were calculated to give prosperity to British 
India ; a Nelson, who with unparalleled conduct and 
courage, hurled the naval thunders of Britain on 
every foe that presumed to oppose his victorious ca- 
reer ; a Pitt, to whose undaunted fortitude and per- 
severance in the government of the helm, amid 
Morms and tempests of unprecedented violence, was 
perhaps owing the salvation of the vessel of the state ; 
and last, though not least, a Fox, the greatest portion 
of whose life has been spent in curbing that power, 
which, for w^ant of opposition, might have degenerat- 
ed into arbitrary tyranny and odious oppression. 

In attempting to give a sketch of the life of the 
last-mentioned distinguished character, we cannot 
but feel ourselves under considerable embarrassment j 



CHARLES JAMES FOX 9 

and this will not appear astonishing to the reader, 
when he reJSects that the task we here undertake is 
to give an account of the conduct of one of the most 
remarkable men that ever filled a public or private 
station. In the one we find him pre-eminently con- 
spicious in talent and ability of the most rare and 
multifarious kind ; in the other we trace him engag- 
ed in practices degrading and contemptible, and which 
could only be learned from associating with the most 
abandoned and profligate of the human race. But 
before we proceed to the consideration of this extra- 
ordinary character, the reader will not be displeased 
with a few particulars relative to the family from 
which he derived his descent. 

The family of Fox was originally settled in Wilt- 
shire ; and William Fox of Farley in that county 
is the first of this line with whom we are acquainted. 
His son Stephen, who received the honour of knight- 
hood, was a man of talents, and was the founder of 
two noble families. Being a royalist, he followed 
the fortunes of the exiled family of Stuart, with the 
remains of which he afterwards returned to England. 

The restoration of Charles II. proved more for- 
tunate to Sir Stephen Fox than to most of th^ adher- 
ents of that monarch, in the catalogue of whose vir- 
tues gratitude cannot be reckoned. In 1661, when 
it was first found necessary to keep on foot a standing- 
army in order to quell the insurrection of the fanatic 
Venere and the fifth monarchy men. Sir Stephen was 
appointed paymaster of the two regiments of guards 
that were first raised ; and afterwards on the levying 
of some other troops on account of the war with the 
Dutch, he was constituted paymaster of all the for= 



10 THE LIFE OF 

ces in England : an office which, on his receiving the 
appointment of master of the horse, was conferred 
on his son Charles, who died in his life time. 

Sir Stephen was a courtier of distinguished abili- 
ties, served in several parliaments, and was honoured 
with very high offices in the state. He left behind 
him monuments of his piety, in the church of Farley 
in Wiltshire, and that of Culford in Suffolk, both of 
which he built from the ground ; and the noble hos- 
pital of Chelsea attests his humanity " I cannot 
bear," said he, " to see the common soldiers, who 
have spent their strength in our service, reduced to 
beg at our doors.'* These feelings inspired him with 
the project of that magnificent structure, towards the 
expence of which he himself contributed above thir- 
teen thousand pounds. 

In 1703 being then seventy-six years of age, Sir 
Stephen Fox married his second wife. Christian, 
daughter of the Rev. Charles Hope, of Nasely, in 
the county of Lincoln ; and by this match, though 
he was so far advanced in years, he not only became 
a father, but the founder of two noble families. His 
eldest son, Stephen, was created Earl of Ilchcster, 
and Henry, the younger. Lord Holland. One of 
his daughters, Elizabeth, married Lord Cornwallis, 
while Charlotte became the wife of a son of Lord 
Digby. 

Henry Fox, Lord Holland, laid the foundation of 
his own honors by his talents and application to busi- 
ness. He, early in life, obtained a seat in parliument, 
and was considered as one of the best speakers of his 
day. Notlnng was too intricate for him in the way of 
figures, and his address in parliament recommended! 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 11 

him to the notice of George II. who, in 1754, made 
him secretary at war, and in the following year, on 
the resignation of Sir Thomas Robinson, appointed 
him secretary of state for the southern department. 
The seven years war, as it was called, broke out in 
1756, and commenced under very unfortunate au- 
spices. The people grew dissatisfied, and wished 
for a change of ministry. The monarch, without re- 
linquishing his prerogative, gave way to the nation ; 
and changing Mr. Fox for Mr. Pitt, all went well and 
prosperously. 

Mr. Fox, however, was not long unemployed : for 
as most of those with whom he had acted were re-in- 
stated in power, by a coalitition between the two par- 
ties, he was nominated to the lucrative post of pay- 
master-general of the forces. It was in this office 
he accumulated that vast wealth, which he left to his 
heirs, and which exposed his character in the decline 
of life, to cutting sarcasm, and himself to the oppro- 
brious appellation of " the public defaulter of unac- 
counted millions."* In 1762 his lady Georgina Caro- 

* This expression was used in a petition presented by the 
Lord Mayor from the Livery of the city of London, to his 
Majesty on the 5th of July, 1769. This petition produced a 
letter from Lord Holland to tlie Lord Mayor, of which the 
following humourous versification made its appearance in 
the publications of the day. 

As I find, my good lord, by the city petition 
You carried to court from the sons of sedition, 
A complaint is held forth of a public defaulter 
Receiving high honors — instead of a halter ; 
And as I am told, though I scarce think it true. 
That I am the paymaster censured by you. 
My honour now spurs me the secret to know. 
From your lordship's own mouth, if it really is so. 
If your lordship affirms it is true — in reply, 
I am sure Mr. Beckford will give you the lie ; 



V2 'THE LIFE bF 

Una daughter of the late, and sister to the present 
Duke of Richmond, was created Baroness of Holland, 
and he himself was the following year elevated to the 
peerage b^ the title of Baron Holland of Foxley. 

The portrait of Lord Holland is thus sketched by 
the able hand of of Home Tooke : — * 

" His youth jovial, imprudent, dissipated and pro- 
digal. 

For tho* scoundrels of late were ray honor inditing 
He knows it all false — I convinc'dhim in writing j 
He knows they have injured an innocent man. 
And must surely oppose such a villanous plan. 

As I know not your lordship, (that honor I fear 
Will ne'er be conferr'd on me while I'm a peer — 
Tho' often I own I've held innocent parly 
With some of your court, such as Alderman Harley, 
He has blood, to be sure, and not one of the mob. 
And for pension or contract will do an odd job) 
But as I'm a stranger, pray who could advise 
You to carry the king such a parcel of lies ? 
In the speech which you made at the foot of the throne, 
The matter 'tis clear you adopt as your own ; 
For there, in plain words, the foul charge you assist, 
,. And boldly declare that the facts do exist. 
'Tis an injury done me — my honor's not callous ; 
You have' hung my fair fame as it were on a gallows. 
If the law doesn't tickle your lordship and Home, 
Even beggars and shoe-boys my conduct will scorn. 

Tho' I scarce know your name, you have honor I'm told, 
(And honor, fair honor's substantial as gold.) 
You have justice *is said, (nay I go by report. 
For I never saw them or your lordship at court) 
If so, my good lord, with these virtues at large, 
I hope you will clear up the grounds of this charge. 
And tell me with plainness, without more delay; 
Whether I am the rascal you meant to display. 
In my own vindication, I then shall disclose 
Some truths which 1 hope will make friends of my foes. 
And truth will do this, for however traduc'd, 
I'm as a honest a Fox as e'er plunder'd a roost. 

* The extraordinary rivalshlp that has so long subsisted 
between the houses of Fox and Pitt will justify the intro^ 



CHARLES JAMES FOX* 13 

<* Stole away the daughter of the Duke of Rich- 
mondj to the extreme regret and with the lastmg in- 
dignation of her family. 

" Paymaster of the forces, making every possible 
emolument, and reluctantly removed, immensely 
rich. 

" His accounts not to this moment (1788) settled : 
above fifty thousand pounds being still due from him 
to the public. Exchequer process against him for 
millions during his life : and .after his death an im- 
mense fraud for thousands detected in his agent, 
creature and executor, which detection caus ed the 
self-slaughter of the executor. 

" With the plenitude of ministerial power, and 
the strongest party connexions, he undertook and 

ductlon in lliis place, of the portrait of the late Lord Chat- 
ham by the same writer. 

" His youth remarkably sober, prudent, moral, «nd eco- 
nomical, i 

" Married the sister of Earl Temple, to the satisfaction 
and with the approbation of ail her connexions. 

** Paymaster of the forces, refusing- all perquisites, and 
retiring voluntarily, no richer than he entered. 

" In the settlement of his accounts neither delay nor dis- 
U-ust, nor dispute nor arrear. 

*' At a period of national despondency, disaster and dis- 
grace, he undertook and conducted a glorious war, and res- 
cued his country from shame and defeat. 

** Acquired for his country the most brilliant victories, 
extensive territories, and never-fading national giory, at the 
expence of our enemies. 

*' Paid no debts for his children : for they contracted 
none. 

** Died poor, leaving only his fame to his widow and 
children. 

'* Died universally admired and lamented ; and by an 
unanimous address of both houses of parliament, he had a 
public funeral and monument. 

" His history mu^t be found in that of his country." 

B 



,14f THE LIFE OF 

mismanaged a war of words and votes in a corrupt 
house of commons, packed by himself and miscar- 
ried. 

" Amassed for his own family exorbitant wealth 
and property, from the burthens and oppressions of 
his countrymen. 

' " Paid debts of a hundred thousand pounds for two 
of his boys ; contracted (at least without praise) be- 
fore they were men. 

" Died immensely rich, with large establishments 
and reversions for every branch of his family. 

" Died universally neglected and execrated ; and 
if his heirs have raised him a tomb-stone, it may 
likewise be said to be at the public expence, but invo- 
luntary. 

" As his history does not make "^a necessary or 
brilliant part of that of his country, it is to be hoped 
it will never be found there : and his friends will as- 
suredly take care that his epitaph shall be very short 
and very general." 

By his marriage with the daughter of the Duke of 
Richmond, Lord Holland had issue : Stephen, his 
successor, born February the 20th, 1745, who died 
Qeceinber 26th, 1774, leaving one son, the present 
Lord Holland, and a daughter ; Henry, who died an 
infant; Cliarles James, born January 24th, 1749; 
and Henry Edward, born March 4th, 1755, now a 
general in the army, and commander-in-chief of the 
British forces in Italy. His Lordship died at Hol- 
land-house July 1st, 1774, in the 69th year of his 
age, and his lady survived him only tv/enty three 
days. 



CHARLES JAMES EOX. 15 

Charles James Fox, the third son of Lord Holland, 
was born, as we have already stated, January 24th, 
1749. If by his father's side he derived no conse- 
quence from his ancestors, by his mother's his de- 
scent must be allowed to be illustrious, she being 
allied to the two rival families of Stuart and Bruns- 
wick, which so long contested for the throne of 
Great Britain. 

But it is not to such claims as these that the fu- 
ture historian will have recourse ; he will dwell 
with ardor on the early promise of genius, the pre- 
cocious talents of the boy, the mature wisdom of the 
philosopher and the statesman ; and while the abili- 
ties and virtues that adorn the character of his hero 
bring him forward on the canvass, these inefficient 
and involuntary pretentions will be cast into the 
shade, and scarcely be distinguished in the back 
ground. 

This second son proved Lord Holland's favourite 
child, and at length became the darling of his old 
age. Perceiving in him the seeds of all the admira- 
ble qualities that constitute greatness, he was at in- 
finite pains to give scope to his intellectual vigour, 
to expand the shoots, and disclose the blossoms of so 
promising a plant. Fromi his earliest infancy he in- 
tended him for parliamentary business, and by con- 
versing always with him as if he had been a man, he 
actually made him one before the usual time. 

This country beheld, in the persons of two rival 
oraters, the extraordinary spectacle of statesmen, 
retiring at different periods from the field of conten- 
tion, and devoting the remainder of their lives to the 
•education of their two youngest sons, whom they 



"•G TH-E LIFE OF 

were accustomed to consult about public affairs, 
and sometimes to place on a table in order to hear 
them declaim. Occupied during the early part of their 
lives in hostility against each other, the enmity of 
the families seemed to have become hereditary ; for 
it was kept up by their children, who still maintained 
a rivalship after they had abjured the principles of 
their respective sires. 

Lord Holland made it a rule in the tuition of his 
children to follow and regulate, but not to restrain na- 
ture. At table, Charles, when a boy, was permitted to 
enter into the conversation of men, and usually acquit- 
ted himself to the astonishment of all present. No 
doubt the early habit of thinking with freedom and 
speaking with readiness, contributed to that prompt 
exertion of his talents which afterwards formed so 
considerable a portion of his senatorial excellencies. 

His father's indulgence of his favourite some- 
times led the youth to petulance. Lady Holland, one 
day, made an observation on a subject of Roman his- 
tory, which Charles perceived to be erroneous. He 
immediately asked with much contempt : What she 
knew about the Romans — and demonstrated her er- 
ror v»dth more knowledge and force of argument 
than filial reverence. Nor did his father chide him 
for his forwardness. 

Charles, after he had arrived at years of maturity, 
often boasted that from his earliest infancy he never 
failed to do what he had a mind ; it being a principle 
Avith his kind papa never to check his children : two 
instances of which are given in this young gentleman 
before he was six years old. One day standing by 
his father while he was winding up a watch — ^^ I have 



' CHARLES JAMES FOX. 17 

a great imnd to break that watch, papa," said the boy. 
"No, Charles, " that would be foolish." "Indeed, 
papa," said he, " I must do it." " Nay," answered 
the father, " If you have such a violent inclination I 
won't baulk it :" on which he delivered the watch into 
the hands of the youngster, who instantly dashed it 
against the floor. 

Another time, while he was secratary at war, 
having just finished a long dispatch which he was 
going to sand, Mr. Charles, who stood near him with 
his hand on the ink-stand, said : " Papa, I have a mind 
to throw this ink over the paper." — " Do, my dear," 
said the'secretary, " if it will give you any pleasure." 
The young gentleman immediately threw on the ink, 
and the secretary sat down very contentedly to write 
the dispatch over again. 

It cannot be doubted that these acts of injudicious 
indulgence on the part of the parent, laid the founda- 
tion of those vices which afterwards stained the cha- 
racter of the son. Accustomed from his earliest in- 
fancy to act just as he pleased, without check or con- 
trol from others, and without any motive for control- 
in g- himself, he took no trouble, when grown up, to 
oppose that torrent of pleasure and dissipation by 
which he was surrounded, but plunged with eagerness 
into vice and extravagance wherever fancy prompted 
or fashion allured. 

The following anecdote affords a proof not only of 
the indulgence, but also of the good sense of the 
father of Mr. Fox. 

Having resolved to take down the wall at the bot- 
tom of the lawn before Holland-house, and to have 
iron pallisades put up in its stead, that the passengers 
B 2 



18 THE LIFE OF 

on the road might enjoy a better view of that I'hid 
antique building, it was necessary to make use of gun- 
powder io facilitate the work. Mr. Fox had promised 
Master Charles that he should be present when the 
explosion took place. Finding that the workmen 
had completed its fall without giving him notice, he 
ordered the wall to be re-built, and when it was 
thoroughly cemented, had it bJown up again. He, 
at the same time recommended it to those about him, 
never, upon any account, to be guilty of a breach of 
promise to children, justly observing, that by so doing 
they instilled into them an indifference with regard 
to the observance of their own promises when they 
arrived at years of maturity. 

The brightness of Chai'les's genius was seen with 
gladness by his fond and delighted father, whose at- 
tention was unremitting to the care of his education, 
while his tenderness for him rather inclined to femi- 
nine weakness ; he threw aside the reins of paternal 
Aithority, and suffered him to riot at large ; content 
to have the love of his darling boy, he sought not to 
excite his fear ; and never did Charles know what it 
was to approach his father with awe. The following 
incident will serve to shew the temerity of the lad, 
and the forbearance of the parent. 

When secretary of state, in the midst of the war, 
having one night a great number of important ex- 
presses to dispatch, he took them home from his 
office in order the more attentively to examine their 
contents before he sent them away. Charles, then 
about nine years old, came into the study, to which 
be had free access, and taking up one of the packets 
which his father had examined and laid apart for 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. I9 

sealing, he perused it with much seeming attention 
for a time, then expressed his disapprobation of its 
contents, and thrust it into the fire. Far from being 
ruffled at this incident, or from attempting to repri- 
mand him, his father turned immediately to look for 
the office copy, and with the utmost composure made 
out another. 

Lord Holland was in the habit of treating his chil- 
dren as men, introducing them as men into every 
company, and accustoming them to deliver their 
sentiments on all occasions ; thus inspiring them 
with a confidence which increased in their riper 
years, and which, in all situations, rendered them 
masters of themselves. 

At the age of fourteen Charles accompanied his 
father to the continent and visited Spa, at that time 
a place of fashionable resort of the most distinguished 
characters from all parts of Europe. Here it is said 
that Lord Holland indulged his favorite with five 
guineas a night to be spent in games of hazard. 
The truth of this circumstance we are the less inclin- 
ed to dispute, as it would account in the mo-st satisfac- 
tory manner for the origin of that inordinate love of 
gaming which took possession of his mind. 

Lord Holland, in compliance with his son's future 
destination, preferred a public to a private education, 
and accordingly Charles had been sent to Westmin- 
ster school. On his return from the continent he 
was placed at Eton, where Dr. Bernard, the late pro- 
vost, found him not only uncommonly eager after 
amusements, but eminently successful in classical 
attainments. His private tutor, while he belonged 
to -iliat celebrated institution, Avas Dr. Newcome, the 



20 THE LIFE OF 

late Archbishop of Armagh, who, while he was fre- 
quently vexed at the dissipation of his pupil, had at 
the same time occasion to be highly gratified with 
his progress. His rapid advancement in classical 
learning while at school, gave him a decided supe- 
riority in every class he entered ; and as his powers 
of oratory were superior to that of any boy in the 
school, he, whenever eloquence was found to be ne- 
cessary, was ahvays chosen as their leader. The 
strength of his constitution kept pace with that of his 
mind, and both were fully exercised. Study and dis- 
sipation alternately engrossed his whole attention ; 
nor did the apparent preference of one, hinder the 
advancement or indulgence of the other. Never 
contented with mediocrity, he sought the extent of 
whatever excited his attention — cold in nothing, but 
ardent in every thmg. He soon discovered his bias 
to humanity, by always espousing the weakest side 
in those contests which so frequently disturb the 
harmony of juvenile society. He sat as judge in their 
disputes, and when he saw a school-fellow rejected 
or oppressed by partiality or pi^judice,he frequently 
exerted his maiden eloquence in favour of justice ; 
thus did he live, the young Solon and Demosthenes 
of his little state. 

Charles, while a boy, delfghted in arch tricks, of 
which the following anecdote affords a specimen. In 
his walk on Easter Monday, meeting a blind woman, 
who was crying puddings and pies, he took her by 
the arm and said : " Come along with me, dame , 
I am going to Moorfiekls, where, this holiday-time 
you may chance to meet with good custom.'*— 
" Thank you kindly Sir,'* replied the woman, 0n 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 21 

this the youngster conducted her into Cripplegate 
Church, and placing her in the middle aisle : " Now" 
said he, " you arc in Moorfields." She immediately 
began to cry : Hot puddings and pies ! hot puddings 
and pies ! — come, they arc all hot 1'* to the no small 
entertainment of the congregation. The sexton went 
up to her and told her she was in church. " You 
are a lying son of a w^— e," answered the woman. 
The man, enraged at this reply, dragged her out of 
the church, she cursing him all the way ; nor would 
she believe him till the sound of the organ convinced 
her where she was. 

At Eton young Fox formed a connection with 
Earl Fitzwiliiam,the Earl of Carlisle, the late Duke 
of Leinster, and many other young noblemen and 
gentlemen who have since distinguished themselves 
in both houses of parliament. Here too,, he is said 
to have developed a peculiar taste for dissipation. 
Notwithstanding this, as his mind was always occupi- 
ed with pleasure or business, he was accustomed 
,during the vacation to enter into the political topics 
of the day, and converse with full-grown politicians 
and statesmen about national affairs. Nor was this 
all ; he now began to declaim, and while he was thus 
obliged to pay some attention to his subject, he, at 
the same time acquired that faculty of expression, as 
well as appropriate arrangement of matter, neither of 
which it is possible to attain without much previous 
study and experience. 

Of this talent his contemporary Lord Carlisle ex- 
l^ressed his admiration in the following prophetic 
lines, on his precocious and eloquent school-fellow : 



22 THE LIFE OF 

How will my Fox alone by strength of pai-t^ 
Shake the loud senate, animate the hearts 
Of fearful statesmen ! while around you stand 
Both peers and commons listening- yo^ir command ; 
Wliile Tully's sense its weight to you affords, 
His nervous sweetness shall adorn your words. 
What praise to Pitt, to Townshend e'er was due, 
In future times, my Fox, shall wait on you. 

The name of Fox was not only revered at Eton by 
his contemporaries, but it has been cherished by 
every succeeding generation of boys ; and he has 
left behind him proofs of his ability both in the Latin 
and Greek languages while a student in that celebrat- 
ed seminary. We shall here present the reader 
with a specimen : 



VOCAT LABOR ULTIMUS. 

Poscimur ; et nobis si rite precantlbus ollm 

Dixeris optatum, Musa, rogata melos. 
Nunc quoque et emerito prxsens succurre poetse. 

Dona ferens adeat sic tua fana cliens. 
Tuque per Aoniis loca si celebrata Camoenis 

Ssepe tua erravi, Pegase, rectus ope : 
Decurso prope jam stadio, metamque sub ipsai» 

Ne lassa infami membra pudore trahas, 
Gentis amore Maro Latium canit: o mihi talis 

Spiritus accedat, non m.inor urget amor : 
Ut patriae (neque enim ingratus natalia rura 

Praeposui campis, mater Etona, tuls) 
Ut patrix carisque sodalibus, ut tibi dicam 

Anglice supremura Qiiinctiliane vale. 
Si quid est, veteres quod Musa imitata, Latlnis 

Luserit aut Graiis, non allena modis, 
Omne tuum est ; mihi Pieridum de fonte sororuip 



CkARLES JAMKS FOX. 23 

Pura mlnisteriis contlg-it unda tuis. 
Teque precor (levitas olim vesana fidells 

Respuit oblatam si monitoris opem, 
Acrior si me conimovit lingua, meisve 

Mori bus aute famae virg-e mese) 

Ne sot consiimptos tecum feliciter amies 

Infelix animo deleat hora tiio. 
Care vale, valeas et materna Etona (supremum 

Musearecinittristis alumnas ope) 
Prataque et.aecid splcndentes verticeturress, ' 

Silvaque carminibus concelebrate meis ; 
Vosque adeo indigenaequx rivi inmarg-ine Mus^e 

Castalias Thamesi post habuistis aquas, 
Extremum concedi, mihi, sacra turba, laborem ; 

Sic beet emeritum non inhonesta rudis. 

Lord Holland, being, in the uncourtly language of 
those days, a rank tory, Charles was sent to finish his 
education at Oxford, where he was entered of Hert- 
ford College. Here, though his time seemed devo- 
ted to gaming and every species of dissipation, he ex- 
celled all of his standing in literary acquirements. 
He was a profound classical scholar. He read Aris- 
totle's Ethics and Politics with an ease uncommon in 
those who have principally cultivated the study of the 
Greek writers. His favorite authors were Longinus 
and Homer. With the latter lie was particularly con- 
versant and retained through life his knowledge of the 
Greek language. He could discuss the works of the 
Ionian bard, not only as a man of exquisite taste and 
as a philosophical critic, which might be expected 
from a mind like his, but also as a grammarian. No 
professed philologist could be more accurately ac- 
quainted with the phraseology and versification of the 
poet. A clergyman, eminent for his knowledge of 



24 THE LI^E OP 

the Greek language, was one day endeavouring to 
prove that a verse in the Iliad was not genuine, be- 
cause it contained measures not used by Homer. 
Mr. Fox instantly recited twenty other verses of the 
same measure, to shew that deviation from the usual 
feet was no evidence of interpolation. He was indeed 
capable of conversing with Longinus, on the beauty^ 
sublimity, and pathos of Homer ; with an Aristotle 
on his delineations of man ; and with a pedagogue on 
his dactyles, his spondees, and his anapaests. Such 
was the universality of his genius that he could meet 
men of the most extensive knowledge, on at least 
equal terms, in their peculiar departments of science. 

History, ethics, and politics were his particular 
studies, and it is obvious that he early considered 
himself destined to be a senator and a statesman. 
His residence at Oxford was not of long duration. The 
dull uniformity of a fcoUege but ill agreed with the 
ardor of his mind. The languid enjoyments of a con- 
templative life were not adapted to his genius; he pant- 
ed to be engaged in scenes of activity and enterprize 
and obtained his father's permission to make the usual 
tour of Europe. 

Though every thing in the form of luxury and 
dissipation struck his fancy, yet he had an equal ap- 
petite for inquiry, and no man was better qualified 
to derive instruction from that novelty, which travel- 
ling affords. The etiquette of courts, the politics of 
nations, and the manners of men, attracted his pene- 
trating mind ; he inquired into their merits, and 
made himself master of their economy ; he remem- 
bered that he was the son of a nobleman, forgot not 
Ms own dignity, and had an eye to the service of his 



» CHARLES JAMES FOX. 25- 

country. Notwithstanding these, he frequently over- 
stepped the bounds of propriety ; the fascinating vi- 
vacity of French manners, the seduction of Italian 
luxury, at times enslaved him : he drank large 
draughts of pleasure, and was often at the gaming- 
table, till his excesses exceeding even the mdulgence 
of his father,whose ears they had reached,he was sum- 
moned home ; audit was not without repeated com- 
mands that he obeyed, as he had entered into the ele- 
gant and fascinating societies of some of the most 
beautiful Avomen on the continent. Among other 
bills which his father satisfied, was one for a debt of 
sixteen thousand pound, contracted by the youth dur- 
ing his residence at Naples. 

Those v/ho have been accustomed to see Mr. Fox 
in the latter years of his life, without being acquaint- 
ed v/ith the minute particulars of his early history, will 
scarsely believe that, at the period of which w^e are 
speaking, he w^as one of the greatest beaus in England, 
that he indulged in all the fashionable elegance of at- 
tire, and vied, in point oi red heels txnd Paris cut velvet 
with the most dashing young men of the age. In- 
deed there are many still living who recollect Eeau 
Fox strutting up and dow n St. James's street, in a 
suit ofFrench embroidery, a little silk hat, red-heelcd 
shoes, and a bouquet nearly large enough for a may- 
pole. These and simular qualifications he displayed 
in most of the courts of Europe wliich he visited in 
the course of his tour, and if he did not return like 
his maternal ancestor, Charles II, with ail the vices 
of the continent, he at least brought back a wardrobe 
replete with all its fasluons. The ardor and impe- 
tuosity of youth likewise led him to expend, or rather 



26 THE LIFE OF 

lavish, vast sums of money in play, and to contract 
immense debts during his absence. 

Through his course of study, travel, and d^issipa"^ 
lion, he passed before the completion of his nineteenth 
year. His father, in order to detach him from pur- 
suits which threatened injury toliis health and ruin to 
his fortune, and impatient also to see him commence 
his political career, procured him, at the general elec- 
tion in 1 768, to be returned a representative in parlia- 
ment for Midhurst, in Sussex. 

Every person under age is by law incompetent to 
judge for himself, and still less can he be deiemed ca- 
pable of making laws for others. On this ground 
Mr. Fox was ineligible to a seat in the House of 
Commons, as he was under twenty. From whatever 
cause it happened that he experienced no opposition, 
whether from design, or accidental oversight in the 
committe of privileges and in the speaker, it cannot 
but be considered as a singular circumstance in the 
first entrance of this great political actor upon the 
public stage . That no notice was taken of his nonage, 
ought perhaps to be ascribed to a compliment of in- 
dulgence to the influence of his father, or to some 
other venal motive in men who probably relied on his 
support at his outset. 

The exertions and the'dispkiy of talents in a youth 
seldom fail to conciliate good-will and even esteem. 
This observation was particularly exemplified in the 
case of Mr. Fox : no member in his noviciate ever 
exited so much anxiety and expectation. His maiden 
speech was on the subject of Mr. Wiikes^s petition 
from the King^s Bench prison to be admitted to take 
his seat in the house, and thus satisfy the desire of 



eHARLES JAMES FOX 27 

his constikuents. On this question Mr. Fox did not 
take the popular side, on which the best and most 
constitutional lawyers declared justice to lie. It has 
been surmised that, had the youthful member favored 
that side, he would not have been allowed to retain his 
seat on account of his minority. 

During' all the proceedings of the House of Com- 
mons relative to the Middlesex election, Mr. Fox 
stood forward as the champion of the ministry, and 
exhibited no common activity and address on this 
occasion. From the first moment of entering the 
senate he indeed displayed all the qualities of an ac- 
complij^Jied orator, he became the theme of conver- 
sation in every fashionable company, and attracted 
universal admiration. He was deemed one of the 
ablest .supporters of the minister, and obtained the 
notice of Junius, who saw the bloom of talents desti- 
ned to ripen into the most valuable fruit. The fticili- 
ty with which he made himselfmasterof anew ques- 
tion, and comprehended the strength, weakness, and 
tendency of a measure or proposition; his forcible ar- 
gumentation, his ready command of the most appro- 
priate, significant and energetic language, soon ren- 
dered him conspicuous. Lord North, who was then 
Chancellor of the Exchequer,- entertained such a 
high opinion of his merit, that he soon appointed him 
paymaster of the pensions to the widov»^s of land 
officers ; and in the beginning of the year 1770 to a 
seat at the board of Admiralty-. 

At the conclusion of 1770 Mr. Fox again visited 
the continent, and went to Paris. Many people pre- 
tended to see something mysterious in his sudden 
departure for that capital ; but, notwithstanding these 



28 THE LIFE Of 

insinuations, it was an undoubted fact that the sole 
intention of his journey was to purchase clothes for 
the approaching birth-day, in defiance of the laws of 
his country, by which a penalty of two hundred 
pounds was attached to the wearing of apparel of 
French -ftianufactu re. Nevertheless he was furnish- 
ed with the necessary dimensions, and was commis- 
sioned to purchase several suits for persons of the 
highest rank. , On the arrival of these clothes at the 
Custom-house, Mr. Fox applied for them to the pro- 
per officers, but to his great mortification only such 
us had been worn were allowed to be delivered. The 
rest, consisting of several rich suits, lace, and other 
articles pi'ohibited by law, were detained and burned. 
It Vv'as observed that, at the next birth-day, most pf 
the noblemen and gentlemen appeared in I^rench 
clothes, whereas, to the honour of the fair sex, not 
one lady was distinguished in any other dress but 
that of her own country. 

Mr. Fox's conduct at the commencement of his 
political career, was but ill adapted to the acquisition 
of popularity ; on the contrary, such was the odium 
which he brought upon himself, that his carriage was 
once broken in pieces by the mob, when he was pro- 
ceeding to the House of Commons. He manifested 
the utmost contempt and abhorrence of every thing of 
English manufacture, and \vas so addicted to gaming, 
that the clerks of the Admiralty were often obliged 
to wait upon him on public business at the gaming- 
houses in, St. James's and Pall-mall ; where, v/ith a 
pen in one hand, and cards in the other, he signed 
warrants, orders, and other papers of a similar nature, 
without knowing one word of their contents. 



CITARLES JAMES FOX. 29 

In March, 1771, when Alderman Oliver was sum- 
moned before the House of Commons, and when he 
and the Lord Mayor were ordered to be sent te the 
Tower, Mr. Fox had the temerity to give the former 
the infamous appellation of assassin. The alder- 
man, who was absent v/hen this expression was used, 
being made acquainted with the circumstance, re- 
turned and insisted on the assertion being, contra- 
dicted by tVe author, or that their virtue should be 
put to the trial. This manly conduct had such an 
effect on Mr. Fox, that he immediately thought pro- 
per to retract his words. 

Mr. Fox voted in 1772 against the act for restrain- 
ing the marriages of the various branches of the royal 
family ; and soon afterwards moved for leave to bring 
irfa bill for its repeal. This, it was observed, came 
-with singular grace and propriety from Mr. Fox, 
whose father was married at the Fleet. He was the 
same year a member of the secret committee for en- 
quiring into the malversations in the British domi- 
nions in the East. 

In February, 1772, Mr. Fox quarrelled with the 
minister, and resigned his seat at the Admiralty Board. 

The following is the coppy of the letter sentbyliim 
to Lord North previous to his resignation : 

My Lord, 
" You have grossly insulted me, and I will resent it. 1 
am just now going to set out for St. James's to resign my 
seat in the Admiralty Board to the King 
** I am, my Lord, 

'* Your lordship's humble servant, 
« C. J. FOX" 

C 2 



30 THE LIFE OF. 

The cause of this rupture is ascribed to the miriis- 
ter's having hinted to Mr. Fox that his orations were 
in sonie cases too figurative. It was even asserted, 
that enamoured of himself, he had repeatedly de- 
clared, he considered advice an insult offered to his 
understanding. Nay, so great an opinion did he en- 
tertain of his own abilities and their importance in 
parliament, that, immediately after his resignation, 
he betted one thousand pounds v/ith' Lord Weymouth. 
that he should have a place of great profit before the 
termination of that session. 

The breach betweeen the minister and Mr. Fox 
was, however, soon healed, and in^ecember follow- 
ing he accepted the office of one of the Lords of the 
Treasury. On this occasion he was stigmatized hv 
the opposition as a placeman, but these reproacl^ 
he parried by steadily denying the acceptance of his 
appointment, as the price of his services. He in 
some measure silenced the clamours of his antago- 
nists, by declaring that he should, support the mea- 
sures of the government no longer than while he be- 
lieved from his concience they were calculated to pro- 
mote the welilire of the British empire. 

Pie had here a difficult task to perform,, for the 
blunders of tiie minister required the greatest abilities 
to cover or excuse them. It is no trifling instance of 
the mutability of human affairs, that the first colleague 
of Mr. Fox should be Lord North, and the first ora- 
torical adversary, Mr Edmund Burke ! It ought how- 
ever, to be remembered, that though these two great 
men exercised the keenest wit and raillery against 
each otherj nothing in the least personal or invidious 
ontered into their attacks? replies or rejoinders. Mr 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 31 

Fox was ready on all occasions to treat the brilliant 
talents of his opponent with that eminent and respect- 
ful distinction) to which they were justly entitled. 

While he continued an advocate for the ministerj 
he had a great deal of invective to withstand, and sus- 
pition to rebut. The political opinions he asserted 
and defended, were not calculated to acquire him pop- 
ularity. For one of his opinions, he was severely at- 
tacked by the then Lord Advocate of Scotland. Ke 
defended himself, however, very ably, and supposing 
the sentiment he had been charged with had fallen 
from his lips in the warmth of debate, some allowance 
ought to be made for the inadvertence of youth. The 
sentence in dispute was, whether he had said, the 
V(jJ.ce of the public was to be collected in that house^ or 
ONLY in that house.- He denied that a just interpreta- 
tion had been put on his "words, and appealed to every 
one who had heard him, whether, in the opinion he 
had given concerning the Middlesex election, he did 
aot rest his argument on the power of.the people. 
Whichever party was wrong m the dispute^ the time 
was now approaclting when this promising statesman 
would have an opportunity of m.anifesting those opi* 
nions, which could not fail to appear congenial to his 
nature. The minister wa5 not insensible to the con- 
sequence of such a loss. Mr. Fox was tired of his tu- 
telage ; and Lord North would relinquish no share of 
his influence to him. All men are fond of power, 
and few are disposed to grant a partial surrender of it, 
even to their confidential friends. Lord North and 
Mr. Fox separated, the latter insisting upon an opi- 
nion of his own, and the former resolving to admit of 
no coadjutor. It is supposed that some secret power 



,3^ THE LIFE 01 

watched the minutiae of government, and prevented 
the minister of that day from Admitting him to a par- 
ticipation in the fame and emokiments of govern- 
ment ^ for it is ii-npossible, that a man of Lord North's 
discernment would not have made a sacrifice in some 
degree of. that which lie loved, to purchase that aid 
\vhi<;h he could not keep without honor, nor lose 
without danger. He had experienced how serviceable 
Mr. Fox was as a friend, and must therefore know, 
he could be formidable as an enemy. Mr. Fox was 
sensible, that he could not take the step he was me- 
ditating, without incurring certain imputations for 
inconsistency. He had supported the measures of 
government for near six years, and knew that no 
abilities, nor even virtues, can wholly excuse the 
want of stability. It is generally a m.ark of intellectu- 
al weakness, and sometimes of depravity ; but he de- 
termined to admit of no compromise between con- 
science and convenience. Whether Mr. Fox had, 
or had not uttered the unconstitutional sentiment 
imputed to him, there is no doubt but he had done 
some injury by his talents, in supporting the mea- 
sures of men who were strongly tinctured with ar- 
bitrary principles. 

It has been asserted that the ostensible cause of 
the rupture between Lord North and Mr. Fox, was 
a difference of opinion on the subject of the Rev. Mr. 
Home, now Mr. Home Tooke, being summoned to 
the bar of the House of Commons, as the supposed 
author of the South Briton, a paper v/hich treated 
the speaker with great freedom. From the proceed- 
ings of parliament on that occasion this does not ap- 
pear to be correct, as Mr. Fox was in this instance 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 33 

the advocate of rigid measures in order to restrain 
publications of a libellous tendency.* 

The motives for his persecution of the press at this 
particular period, were threefold ; arising, in the 
first place, from his natural wish to trample upon the 
rights of the people, which rendered him a determin- 
ed foe to this literary bulwark of their enemies ; se- 
condly, because Lord North was its avowed protect- 
or, so long as it was confined Mithin any descent 
bounds^: and, thirdly, because he was the puppet of 
the Bedford faction, which wanted to bring in either 
the Duke of Grafton or Lord Go>ver. In case this 
plan should succeed, Charles expected to be the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and it was not doubt- 
ed from the remarkable prudence he had manifested 
in the managemant of his own affairs, that the nation- 
al revenue would be highly improved under his ad- 
ministration. It was likewise whispered that Lord 
North's having declared that " the defaulter of un- 
accounted millions,'* should come to a settlement 
with the people, was another cause of Mr. Fox's op- 
position ; and indeed from his language in the house, 
it might have been imagined that he had already re- 
alized his ambitious project, as he never failed to talk 
largely " of his measures" and what " he meant to 
do," whenever he took part in an argument. 

* It is well known that, on this occasion, the ministerial 
party were completely foiled, to the mortification of their 
champion. Sometime afterwards George Onslow, feeling 
extremely sore at tlie freedom with which he and some of 
liis brother members had been treated in a poem called the 
. Senators^ spoke to several gentlemen about calling the au^ 
tiior and publisher to an account. Among the rest he ap« 
plied to Charles Fox, who jocosely answered : *' Let them 
alone, Q^Qv^it— printers you know, are no game for you." 



34 LIFE OF 

Though the public in general were filled with in- 
dignation at the bare idea of Mr. Fox's being intrust- 
ed with the finances of the nation ; still it was observ- 
ed that his greatest enemies were obliged to allow 
that he possessed one very admirable requisite for a 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, namely, as perfect a 
knowledge of the ways and means to raise a supply 
as any man in the three kingdoms. 

The act for deciding contested elections was about 
this time expiring. Lord North expressed his wish 
to render it perpetual, but Mr. Fox publicly declar- 
ed that he would oppose it to the utmost of his power. 
Being asked whether he thought this method a likely 
one to ingratitate himself v/ith the people, he care- 
lessly replied, " Poll ! damn the people, they can 
neither put me in nor keep me out ; and if my ground 
is only good at St. James's, I'll soon convince them 
that I am neither to be moved by their complaints, 
nor intimidated by their execretions." 

Sometime previous to this event he had begun to 
associate with several members of the opposition, 
and had been, by the sympathy of genius, attracted 
to the celebrated Edmund Burke. The minister 
had repeatedly represented the suspicions to which 
his association with the opposers of government had 
given rise, and enforced them with this argument : 
" If (said he) we see a woman frequently coming out 
of a bagnio, we cannot swear she is not virtuous ; yet 
we should judge of her from her company." 

These remonstrances had, however, very little 
weight with Fox, who was now freed from all pa- 
rental restraint in his political career, by the death 
of his father, Lord Holland. He began to think for 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 36 

himself, and opportunities were not wanting when 
he endeavoured to shake off the trammels of depen- 
dence, and allowed his manly mind to take its full 
scope. Not the least m.emorable of these occurred 
during the debate on the bill brought into the House 
of Commons by Sir William Meredith, for the pur- 
pose of relieving persons from subscription to the 
thirty-nine articles of the Church of England ; and 
in the liberal sentiments delivered on that occasion 
Mr. Fox ever afterwards steadily persevered. 

As a proof of the great abilities of the young cud, 
as he was then generally denominated, and that he 
was perfectly versed in all matters, though ever so 
opposite in their nature, the following fact may be 
mentioned : — The whole night before the question 
on the thirty -nine articles were agitated, he spent at 
the gaming-table, where he actually lost two thousand 
pounds, after which he went home, washed his face, 
and immediately proceeded to the House of Com- 
mons, where he made a speech on this important 
religious subject. 

The opposition he now began to make to the views 
of administration could not pass unnoticed ; and in 
February, 17^4, the following laconic letter was 
delivered to him while sitting on the Treasury 
bench, in the House of Commons, by the side of the 
minister ; ^ 

" His Majesty has thought proper to order a new com- 
mission of the Treasury to be made out, in which I do not 
perceive your name. " NORTH," 

When this billet was presented to Mr. Fox, his 
reply was, that the minister had not behaved like a 
man of spirit. 



36 THE LIFE OF 

The circumstances immediately preceding this 
abrupt dismissal are understood to have been these : 
Mr. Fox, who had always given it as his opinion at 
the council-board, that lenient measures were not the 
proper pursuits of government, took occasion, on the 
business with Woodfall and the Rev. Mr. Home, to 
urge Lord North to what he termed a proper spirit 
of resentment. The latter answered, " That as he 
was flattered he had acted himself into the good opi- 
nion of the public, he would take care how he was 
printed out of it." This cool reply irritated Mr. 
Fox the more ; and, in the warmth of his temper, he 
dropped expressions which obliged Lord North to 
leave the council. Next morning the minister had 
a conference with his lyiajesty, and the same day 
Mr. Fox had notice of his dismission. 

In 1773, an offer of marriage with an heiress to 
one of the first fortunes in the kingdom, was said to 
have been made him, on condition of his engaging 
never to lose more than one hundred pounds at one 
bet or at one sitting ; and report added, that his father 
had agreed once more to pay off all his annuities and 
other debts on the same conditions. After his rupture 
with the minister, it was believed tl^gt nothing but 
the hope of an advantageous matrimonial alliance 
kept him in England. Had it not been for this hope, 
it was his intention to have fixed his residence ft 
France for two or three years, if peace should have 
continued so long. 

In 1774, Mr. Fox visited Oxford, on occasioa at 
the Eneas nia held in that city. In a conversation 
which took place there between him and some other 
sprigs of nobility, it was rnentioned as a matter of 



GHAHLES JAxVIES FOX. 37 

wonder that Mr. Fox did not receive tiie honorary 
degree of doctor of ci\dl laws, as well as the other 
noblemen and gentlemen who had been that morn- 
ing admitted. Charles replied, he had been, in the 
proper form, and at the prescribed period of tinie, ad- 
mitted a master of aits ; and for a man so circum- 
stanced to accept the honorary degree of doctor of ci- 
vil laws, would be like a regular's suffering himself 
to be dubbed a quack. 

Few young men were so remarkable as Mr. Fox 
for readiness at repartee and shrewdness of observa- 
tion. Of this the following instances may be cited : 
Meeting one daj^ the Hon. J. Dyson, who was un- 
commonly thin and meagre, the latter, in the course 
of some ordinary conversation broke off rather ab- 
ruptlv, by recollecting that he had some business at 
the Navy Office ; on which Charles very coldly re- 
plied : " I should rather imagine, Mr. Dysonf that 
your business lay at the Victualling Office.** 

Being asked Avhat measures government would 
take to prevent emigrations, Mr. Fox replied, that 
he knew not positively, but whatever might be at- 
tempted, he knew but one effectual way, and that was, 
to make it worth the subject's while to stay at home. 

Lord Suffolk, a few days before his marriage, was 
descanting, in the presence of Mr. Fox, in his usual 
pompous style, on what an invaluable treasure a virtu- 
ous woman was.-^" Very true, my lord," replied 
Charles : " but methinks the possession is very pre- 
carious, because it is a treasure I will allow, locked 
up, to which every man has a key." 

Charles one day received a severe reprehension 
from his father, who asked him how it was possib^r 
D 



38 THE LIFE OF 

for him to sleep, or enjoy any of the comforts of Jife, 
when he reflected on the immense sums he stood in- 
debted. " Your lordship need not be in the least sur- 
prised," answered Charles ; " your astonishment 
■ought to be how my creditors can sleep." 

Mr. Fox supped one evening with Edmund Burke, 
at the Thatched House, where they were served witli 
dishes more elegant than substantial. Charles's ap- 
petite being rather keen, he was far from relishing 
the kick-shaws that were set before him ; and addres- 
sing his companion : " These dishes, Burke," said he, 
" are admirably calculated for your pallate : they are 
both sublime and beautiful." 

In his house at St. James's-place, Mr. Fox had a 
back parlour, which he facetiously denominated the 
Jerusalem CAamSer, because it was the theatre of his 
negociations with the children of Israel ^relative to 
the raising of occasional supplies. When his sister, 
Lady Mary Fbx, was brought to bed of a son and heir, 
which cut Charles out of the estate and title, he 
v/as called out of this Jerusalem chamber, where 
he had a large levee, to be informed of the circum- 
stance. On his return, perceiving some appeai^an<;e 
of disappointment in his countenance, the whole tribe 
of Levi unanimously exclaimed : " Vat is dc rnatter ? 
Vat is de matter, Master Fox ?" " Bad enough, in- 
deed," replied Charles ; " here is a second Messi^ 
come to plague you all." 

Mr. Thomas Townshend, afterwards Lord Sidney, 
being in company with Mr. Fox, and some other par- 
liamentary friends, was talking of the debates the pre- 
ceding winter in the House of Commons, and observ- 
ed, that Mr. Fox had never been oftener on his le§:ii 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 39 

in jfiiy one session. — "True," answered Charles, who 
loved to joke on his own misfortunes, " for the Jews 
left me not a chair to sit on.'* 

Mr. Hare, breakfasting one morning at the house 
of Mr. Fox, and looking out of the window, perceived 
a great number of the money-hunting tribe about the 
^or ; on which he called out ; " Pray, gentlemen, 
are ye/bj: -hunting or hare hunting this morning ?" 

Lord North, exulting over Mr. Fox on the news 
contained in an Extraordinary Gazette, of the con- 
quest of New-York ; the wit replied : " It is a mis- 
take ; New-York is not conquered; it is only, like 
the ministry — abandoned. 

At this period of his life Mr. Fox united to his 
political reputation a celebrity of a very different 
kind. He was a leader in every species of fashion- 
able dissipation among the young men of rank of his 
own age. His expences v/ere unbounded ; and not- 
withstanding his father's liberality, his debts were 
enormous. He had already consumed his whole 
patrimony. . Lord Holland, at his death, bequeathed 
to his son Charles a large sum of money, and consi- 
derable e^states in the neighbourhood of Kingsgate,* 
with the house he had built there in imitation of 



* Lord Holland left by his will, to his eldest son, Ste- 
phen, the Wiltshire estate, 50001. per annum, and 20,0001. ; 
to Charles, the Sheppy and Thanet estate, 9001. per anniim, 
and 20,0001. ; to Captain Fox an estate in the North, 5001. 
per annum, and 10,0001. ; to his Lady, 20001. per annum, 
with Holland house, estate, plate, &c. to pay some small le- 
gacies, and to be held sole executrix. — As residuary leg-atee 
it was computed that her ladyship would be worth 120,0001. 
in government securities, besides her jointure. She, how- 
ever, lived not to enjoy it, for she died in the shprt |pace of. 
three weeks after her Lor.d. ' 



10 THE XI F£ GI- 

Tully's Formian ville on the coast of Baijc . These 
bequests, in addition to the clerkship of the pells in 
Ireland, which devolved to hira on the death of hia 
brother in 1774, and was soon afterwards sold to Mr, 
Jenkinson, now Lord Liverpool, * could not, it is 
thought, have produced a less annual income than 
four thousand pounds. This large property he soon 
dissipated, and being likewise deprived of his situa- 
tion at the Treasury, he was now left without any 
other resource than the gaming-table. 

An orator from his infancy, and a sportsman by 
intuition, or the prevalence of fashion, it can create 
no surprise that we find him a blazing comet of the 
senate and a member of the jockey club, immedi- 
ately after his emancipation from the dreary dic- 
tates of the more dreary drudgery of collegiate ty- 
ranny and scholastic subordination. In his initia- 
tion to the music of the bonesy or the pleasures of the 
turf, eternal losses paved his way, as is the custom 
with all noviciates at their introduction. To de- 
predations of the first magnitude he opposed the 
most unsullied honor, and sustained the injuries that 
were so lavishly heaped upon him with the greatest . 
patience, as they unfolded a variety of the myste- 
ries contained in' the immense volume of human 

* The clerkship of the pells, in Ireland, enjoyed by the 
elder brother of Mr. Fox, and wliich reverted on his decease 
to Charles, had been mortgag-ed sore time before tlie fa- 
thei-'s death for near the full value. Lord Holland hearing- 
of the cilx^um stance, privately paid off" the mortgage, and 
senduAg for his sons, first made them give their words of 
honor, that they would take wp no more money upon it, ami 
then delivered them the papers, saying : *' Why, then, it is 
clear to you both for youi* lives," — This place was worth 
1.7001. per annum. 



CHTARXES JAMES FOX. 41 

depravity. So great and diversified were the infinite 
resources of his genius and intellect that, in the very 
zenith of his popular attraction, when surprising the 
senate with the utmost force and power of rheto- 
rical fascination ; and his patriotic exertions i'^- 
sounded through the remotest corners of the king- 
dom, he has been seen an invariable nocturnal de- 
votee at the court of Comus, and been known to 
take in succession, the senate and the subscriptioti 
house without the intervening assistance of the pil- 
low for the renovation of either body or mind. 

Thus, possessed of such an immense store of 
mental energy and personal experience, it is natural 
to suppose that he was proof against every attack of 
the family. The reverse was, however, the *ctise. 
The liberality of his mind — the openness of his heart, 
rendered him the unsuspecting and eternal dupe of 
their determined villainy, in habitual subservience to 
which, a very considerable property became totally 
appropriate.* His engagements upon the turf were 
not the most numerous, but of the most honourable 
kind. His confederacy was with his intimate friend 
the late Lord Foley, and so strictly just and equitable 
were they in tlie most minute and trivial part of their 

* The elder brother of Mr. Fox was equally a dupe to 
the artifices of these black -leg-ged gentry. On one occasion 
in particular he was cruelly fleeced at a receptacle for 
gamesters at the west end of the town. He entered with 
13,0001. and retired without a farthing-. He was habitually 
somewhat lethargic, but that evening more so than usuaV 
which created considerable diversion among his companions, 
who every now and then disturbed him by a pull of the 
sleeve and-^" Stephen, you owe me two thousand pounds- 
Stephen, you gave me but five hundred ; one thousr.id is 
the money." In this manner they.proceeckd till he was en- 
tirely stripped. 

D 2 



4-2 THE LIFE OF 

concerns that neither envy, prejudice, nor the spirit 
of opposition, has ever presumed to arraign their con- 
duct in any point of view. 

Upon the turf he was always accustomed to ani- 
madvert with jocularity upon his own losses, and 
repeatedly observed, "*his horses had as much bot- 
tom as other people's, but they were such slow, good 
ones, they never went fast enough to tire themselves." 
He had, however, the gratification to experience 
some few exceptions to this imaginary rule, for, in 
April, 1772, he was so lucky at New-market, as to 
win nearly sixteen thousand pounds, the greater part 
of which he got by betting against the celebrated 
Pincher, v/ho lost the match by only half a neck. 
The odds at starting were 6 to 4, and 2 to 1 on the 
losing horse. In the year 1790, his horse Seagull 
won the Oatlands stakes at Ascot, of one '.undred 
guineas each, (nineteen subscribers) beating the 
Prince of Wales's Escape, Serpent, and several of the 
very best horses of that year, to the great mortification 
of his Royal Highness, v/ho immediately matched 
Magpie against him, to run four days afterwards, t\A o 
miles for five hundred guineas. This match, on 
which immense sums were depending was won with 
ease by Seagull. 

In the same year Mr. Fox and his partner had. 
thirty horses in training, the majority of which were 
of no great celebrity ; but the winnings of Seagull, in 
stakes, only, amounted to no less than fifteen hundred 
and twenty guineas, and as sportsmen it is natural to 
conclude that the common field-betting must liave 
exceeded t^e principaL 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 4i> 

The death, in July, 1793, of Lord Foley, the friend 
in whose judgment Mr. Fox most confided, relaxed 
his ardor in a pursuit that seems, in more respects 
than one, to be deprived of the former fervency of 
fashion. His lordship entered upon the turf with a 
clear estate of 18001. a year, and 100,0001. in ready 
money. He left it without ready money, with an 
encumbered estate, and with a constitution injured by 
the labors and care of a business unsuitable to the 
benevolent character of his mind. 

Mr. Fox was ever at the head of every thing in 
■which he. was engaged. He ranked with the first 
players, and excelled most at whist, quinze, and all the 
fashionable games of skill. But horse-racing was his 
darling amusement, until, from prudential motives, 
he quitted the turf and all other play. He played at 
other games with indifference, and would throw for a 
thousand guineas with as much'JsaJig'froid as he would 
play at tetotum for a' shilling.* But when his horse 
ran, he was all eagerness and anxiety. He always 
placed himself where the animal was to make a push, 
or where the race was to be most strongly contested. 
From this spot he eyed the horses -advancing with 
the most immoveable look ; he breathed quicker as 
they accelerated their pace ; and when they came 
opposite to him, he rode in with them at full speed, 

* The Duke of Devonsliire, wlio, much to his honour, 
made a point of never touching a card, went one day out of 
curiosity to the Thatched House. After some time, finding 
himself awkward at being the only person in the apartments 
disengaged, he proposed a bet of fifty pounds on the odd trick 
to Charles Pox. — " You'll excuse me, my Lord Duke," re- 
plied Charles, *' I never play for pence." " 1 assure you 
Sir," answered his Grace, "you do, as often as 1 play for fil- 
ty pounds " 



44 THE LIFE or 

whipping, spurring and blowing, as if he would have 
infused his whole soul into the courage,Bpeed and per- 
severance of his favourite racer. But when the race 
was over, whether he won or lost, seemed to be a mat- 
ter of perfect indifference to him, and he immediately 
directed his conversation to the next race, whether 
he had a horse to run or not. 

Individuals may differ in their idea concerning the 
integrity of Mr. Fox as a patriot, but of his principles 
as a man theref'is but one opinion, which, while it can- 
didly admits his exti^avagance, ascribes them to an in- 
nate frankness and generosity of disposition. From 
this amidst all the misfortunes, public as well as pri- 
vate, (and of both few men in high life have experi- 
enced a greater share,)he was never knov/n to swerve. 

Having once an old gaming debt to pay to a dash- 
ing baronet known by the familiar appellation of Sir 
John Jehu, and finding himself in cash after a lucky 
run at the pharo-table, he sent a card of compliments 
to Sir John, desiring to see him, in order to discharge 
his demand. When they met, Fox produced. the 
money, which Sir John no sooner saw, than calling 
for a pen and ink, he very deliberately began to reck- 
on up the interest. " What are you doing now ?" 
cries Charles—" Only calculating the amount of the 
interest,*' replied the baronet. — '•^ Are you so ?" re- 
turned Fox, coolly, and at the same time returning the 
cash, wliich he had already thrown upon the table, to 
his pocket. — " Why, I thought. Sir John, that my 
debt to you was a debt of honour ; but as you seem to 
view it in another light, and seriously mean to 
make a trading debt of it, I must inform you that I 
make it an invariable rule to pay my Jew creditors last : 



CHARLES JAMES TOX. 45 

y>9U must therefore wait a little longer for your mo- 
ney, Sir : and when I meet my money-lending Israel- 
ites I shall certainly think of Sir John Jehu, and ex- 
pect to have the honour of seeing him in the compa- 
ny of my worthy friends from Duke's Place.** 

The Hon. Mr. L. one night lost at Brookes*s se- 
venty thousand pounds with his carriages, his horses, 
Sec. which were his last stake. Mr. Fox, who was 
present and partook of the spoils,moved that an annu- 
ity of fifty pounds per annum should be settled on the 
unfortunate gentleman, to be paid out of the general 
fund. This motion was agreed to nem. con. and a 
resolution was entered into, at the instance of the 
same distinguished character, that every member 
who should be completely ruined in that hoiise, 
should be allowed a similar annuity out of the same 
fund, on condition that he never be admitted as a 
sporting member, as in that case, the society will be 
playing against ther own money. 

An anecdote, for the truth of which, how^ever it is 
impossible to vouch, is thus related concerning Mr» 
Fox and Mrs. Crewe : 

At one period of his life he was fond of ranking 
among her admirers. A gentlemtm who had lost a 
considerable sum to her at play, knowing Mr. Fox's 
acquaintance with the lady, and being obliged to leave 
town suddenly, gave him the money to pay her, and 
begged he would apologize to the lady for his not 
having paid the debt of honour in person. Mr. Fox, 
whose necessities were always very pressing, appre- 
hended that he might trespass a little on the good-na- 
ture of the lady, and accordingly, instead of waiting 
on her with the money, appropriated it to his own 



4?6 THE LIFE OF 

uses, or, in other words, actually lost every shilling 
of it before morning. Mrs. Crewe often met her 
supposed debtor in public afterwards, and was aston- 
ished thathe took no notice of the sum she had won 
from him : at length when a considerable space 
had elapsed,* she hinted the matter delicately 
to him. " Bless me,** said he, with surprise, " I 
paid the money to Mr. F. three months ago.*'-—" Oh 
you did Sir !" replied Mrs Crewe, who was not more 
remarkable for beauty and sense than good na- 
ture, " then probably he has paid me, and I have for- 
gotten it ; but I shall speak to him ; for either his 
memory or mine must be very treacherous on this 
occ£\sion." When he was taxed with the matter, he 
owned the truth, but swore he could not have taken 
so much liberty with any woman on earth but her- 
self, begged she would give him a little time ; but 
whether he ever paid her, was much doubted by ma- 
ny well-informed sceptics about St. James*s. 

The lines which Mr. Fox wrote on the above 
mentioned lady, about the year 1780, prove the ver- 
satility of his genius ; and that he who made such 
a distinguished figure in the fields of eloquence,; ' 
might have attained no small degree of emmence 
in the regions of Pernassus, had inclination and 
circumstances led him to the cultivation of the poe- 
tic talent with which he was gifted. 

Where the loveliest expression to features is join'd. 
By nature's most delicate pencil design'd ; 
Where blushes unbidden, and smiles without art. 
Speak the softness and feeling that dwell in the heart; 
Where, in manners enchanting-, no blemish we trace. 
But the soul keeps the promise we had from the face; 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 47 

Sure, philosophy, reason, and coldness must prove 

Defences unequal to shield us from love ! 

Then tell me, mysterious enchanter! O tell. 

By what wonderful ;irt, by what magical spell. 

My heart is so fenc'd, that for once I am wise. 

And g-aze without raptures on Amoret's eyes ; 

That my wishes which never were bounded before. 

Are here bounded by friendship, and ask for no more. 

Is't reason ? No : that my whole life will behe. 

For who so at variance as reason and I ? 

Is't ambition that fills up each chhik of my heart, 

Nor allows any softer sensation a part ? 

Oh no ! for in this all the world must agree. 

One folly was never sufficient for me. 

Is rny mind on distress too intensely employ'd, 

Or by pleasure relax'd, by variety cloy'd ? 

For, alike in this only, enjoyment and pain. 

Both slacken the springs of those nerves which they strain. 

That I've felt each reverse that from fortune can flow. 

That I've tasted each bliss.that the happiest know. 

Has still been the whimsical fate of my life. 

Where anguish and joy have been ever at strife. 

But, tho' vers'd in th' extremes both of pleasure and pain, 

I am still but too ready to feel them again. 

If then, for this once in my life, I am free. 

And escape from a snare might catcli wiser than me, 

'Tis that beauty alone but imperfectly charms. 

For, tho' brightness may dazzle, 'tis kindness that warms. 

As on suns in the winter with pleasure we gaze. 

But feel not their warmth, though their splendor we praise, 

So beauty our just admiration may claim, . 

But love» and love only, our hearts can enflame. 

It appears to have been then, as it is at present, 
the practice of persons in the higher circles to amuse 
themselves with private theatrical representations. 
In the month of January, 1774, we find Mr. Fox en- 



48 THE LIFE OF 

joying this recreation at Winterslow-house, in Wilt- 
shire, the seat of his brother Stephen. On the 8th 
of the above-mentioned month he sustained the part 
of Horatio in the tragedy of the Fair Penitent, and 
that of Sir Harry's servant in High Life Below Stairs. 
The other parts were performed by the various 
members of the family, or fashionable friends, among 
whom was the Hon. Mr. Fitzpatrick. The folio^^ing 
day the mansion of Winterslow was unfortunately 
consumed by fire. But it is now time to return to 
the political exertions of this celebrated character. 

Fox, although in his disposition candid, liberal, 
and of the most expanded benevolence, yet, in his 
temper ruling and irritable, was filled with resent- 
ment at the mode of his dismissal, and now became a 
most strenuous and formidable opponent of the mini- 
ster. One of the principal features in his character 
was openness ; and in every part of his conduct, 
whether public or private, boldness and decision 
have been equally prominent. Whether the ends 
which he pursued were beneficial or hurtful, there 
was no petty intrigue, no duplicity in the means. 
Such a character was totally unfit for the tricks and 
suppleness of a mere courtier. The greatness of hia 
mind was as incompatible with the frivolity of court 
etiquette, as his candour with the duplicity of court 
artifice. 

The year 1774 was pregnant with remarkable 
events to Mr.Fox. He was discarded from theTreasu- 
ry ; his father died in July, his mother in August, and 
his elder brother Stephen Lord Holland, on the 26th 
November. To this may be added, that, at the gene- 
ral election in the same year, he w^as an unsuccessful 



CHARLES JAMES TOX. 49 

candickte for Poole, though he was aftjerwards chosen 
forMahnsbury, in Wiltshire, with William Strahaii,^ 
Esq. joint printer to his Majesty. 

He now joined, in the most unqualified manner, in 
the opposition of the measures of the minister, arid 
to this opposition he owed the commencement of his 
reputation. Just before his dismission he had made 
a speech, in which he described, in glowing- terms, 
the happiness of the nation ; but the striking differ- 
ence which afterwards took place in the tone of his 
declarnatibn, occasioned the following lines of Pope tt> 
l?e applied to him : 

Ask men's opinions — Scoto now shall tell 
How trade increases, and the world goes well 
Strike off this pensioii, by the setting' sun. 
And Britain, if not Europe, is undone. 

From the year 1774 to 1781, the question of com- 
pliance with the demands of the <:olonists, or taxation 
and rigorous coercion ; the utility or prejudicial in- 
fluence of each particular measure adopted by ad- 
ministration ; the prudence or folly of raising all Eu- 
rope in arms against Britain, at the moment when she 
was at war with her own subjects, gave rise to a l^ 
series of the most eloquent debates that ever 
place within the walls of an English House of 
mons. 

Fox, Burke, Barre, Dunning, were the mo«t c 
quent speakers on the side of opposition. Thurlow, 
Wedderburn, Lord North, spoke on the other side 
with different, though scarsely inferior talents. Fox, 
trained by Burke to the industry of a leader, and in- 
structedby him in the details of business, became con- 
E V 



50 THE LITE OF 

tinually more eminent as an orator and a statesman 
in the house. The effects of opposition weakened the 
hands of the ministers ; rendered them timid, uncer- 
tain, more anxious to avoid censure, then by exertion 
to command success. They contributed signally to 
produce the misconduct they arraigned, and the mis- 
fortunes which they affected to deplore. American 
freedom was not more strongly vindicated, by the 
arms of Washington, than by the eloquence of the op- 
position. 

It was chiefly during this period, that the perma- 
nent principles, political and moral, of Charles Fox, 
must have been formed. By his father he had been 
taught to think, that every thing was pardonable to 
active and splendid political. talents ; that by political 
exertions arid intrigue he ought to make his fortune ; 
that fashionable excesses, if they could be reconciled 
with political industry ,',were only commendable proofs 
of spirit and genius. From the Rockingham party, 
he learned to believe that the great whig fam»iiies, 
whose ancestors were the authors of the revolution, 
and of the settlement in favour of the house of Hano- 
ver,ought still to hold the crown, as it were in tutelage, 
k to leave to the sovereign little more than the empty 
honours, and the mere nominal power of government. 
Fromx Junius, from Franklin, from Dunning, from 
the remonstrances of the city of London and of the 
Americans, from Hume, Smith, Voltaire, and Price, 
iie imbibed a taste for that philosophy which prefers 
an ideal semblance of right to tried order and expe- 
diency. Burke taught him to throw the veil of fanci- 
ful ornament and of sophistical refinement, over that 
practical good sense, which, in politics, it was almost 



CKARLES JAMES FOX. 51 

natural for him, even unconsciously, to exercise. His 
practice at the gaming-table,in the house of commons, 
in the meetings of party-cabal,had given him new con- 
fidence in his own powers, new controul over his own 
passions, a deeper insight into the complexities of 
human character, and the frailness of human nature 
— by no means a nicer sense of honour, or a more sa- 
cred observance of moral principle, — but certainly 
more of that lofty magnanimity which the ingenuous, 
mind delights to cherish, when it feels itself capable 
of surmounting every difficulty of fortune, and of iri- 
umphing over the most skilful artifices of its oppo^ 
nents. 

The measures which led to the American war had 
now come to a crisis, and were loudly execrated by 
a formidable party in the mother country. To this 
party Fox united himself, and, from his conspicuous 
talents, soon acquired the authority of a leader. In 
1773 he opposed the introduction of the Boston Port 
Bill, and apologized for the conduct of the colonies. 
In his speech, on this occasion, he arraigned the mea- 
sures of the minister in bold and energetic language, 
and explained the principles of the constitution with 
masculine eloquence. The treasury-bench now began, 
for the first time, to calculate the loss it had sustained, 
the opposition to estimate the strength it had acquir- 
ed. The session of 1775 opened with a speech, de- 
claring the necessity of coercion. On this occasion. 
Fox poured forth a torrent of his powerful eloquence. 
In that plain, forcible language, which forms one of 
the many excellencies of his speech, he shewed what 
ought to have been done, what ministers had promis- 
ed to do, and what had been done. He affirmed that. 



52 THE LIFE OF 

Lord Chathaiji, the King of Prussia, nay, even 
Alexander the Great, never gained more in one cam- 
paign than Lord North had lost. "He has lost," said 
he, " a whole continent." His sagacious mind, at the 
commencement of the war, foresaw the event. Fox 
perceived, and predicted, that men fighting for liberty 
v/ould ultimately prove succssful. He endeavoured 
to disuade his country from war, foreboding that dis- 
comfiture must be the event of such a contest. Un- 
fortunately, administration disregarded his admoni- 
tions, and the consequent calamity far exceeded the 
anticipation even of Mr. Fox's foresight. 

Nevertheless, persons were not wanting, who as- 
cribed Fox's opposition less to patriotic motives than 
to the effects of private pique against Lord North. 
That minister particularly interested himself in pro- 
curing the refund of the money due to the public by 
I^ord Holland ; v/hose executors actually paid into 
the treasury two hundred thousand pounds, part of 
a much larger, sum, vThich came into his hands while 
paymaster-general, and never passed the auditor's 
office. This was surmised to be, in part the reason 
of the virulence which Mr. Fox displayed against 
him on every occasion. 

In 1776 Mr. Fox paid another visit to France, 
ind his sudden return, at the commencement of the 
tbllowing year, not a little embarrassed the minister, 
who was in hopes that he would have amused him- 
sieif on the continent during the remainder of the 
session. While his political antagonists thought 
him engaged in the diversions of the Plaine de Sab- 
hns, he was gleaning the best intelligence relative 
to the affairs of Europe, which his knowledge of the 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 5S 

larjguag'e, his intimacy with the French noblesse, 
and, above all, his superior address, gave him every 
opportunity of doing-. 

It was this that enabled him with such confidence 
to contradict, in December 1777, the statem.ents of 
the minister, who declared that France did not threat- 
en to molest Great Britain, nor did he believe that 
either France or Spain entertained any such inten- 
tion. Mr. Fox, on the contrary, insisted, that the 
whole house of Bourbon was hostile, and only waited 
for a favourable opportunity, which w^ould present 
itself the very instant the first bad news should arrive 
from America. How exactly the event justified his 
predictions, is too well known to be here repeated. 

About this time Mr. Fox obtained admission to a 
seat at the meetings of the literary club, founded by 
the celebrated Johnson, which likewise numbered 
Gibbon, Burke, and Sheridan, among its members. 
His attendance was eagerly encouraged ; but it was 
remarked, that when Johnson was present, the states- 
man rarely engaged in the conversation. This taci- 
turnity, which could not possibly proceed from fear^ 
probably arose from a desire of informatioil and in- 
struction, which a young man, not inferior in abilities^ 
might reap fi^om the knowledge and experience of 
the sage. 

lathe autumn of 1777 Mr. Fox visited Ireland. 
This gave rise to a silly report, that he was gone to so- 
licit of the viceroy a seat In the Irish parliament, in 
order to support administration ; particularly as he 
was often seen at the castle of Dublin, and in company 
with the placemen and pensioners of that kingdom. 



54 THE LIFE OF 

These visits, however, were nothing more than the 
relaxations of a man of pleasure and fashion. 

In this tower of Ireland, Mr. Fox, among other 
places went to see the Lake of Killarney, near which 
stood the mansion of Sir Boyle Roche, gentleman 
usher of the castle, and whose talents at making /^w//5 
were so notorious, that every whimsical blunder of 
that description was placed to his account. Sir 
Boyle took a pride in escorting the orator, and shew- 
ing him all the curiosities of that part of the country. 
In the course of their peregrinations, he took him to 
a lofty mountain by the side of the lake, to the top of 
which the traveller is conducted by a circuitous road. 
At the summit is a small lake, which, from the popu- 
lar idea that it cannot be fathomed, has acquired the 
appellation of the Devifs Punch-Bowl, and the water 
of which is excessively cold. Mr. Fox arriving on 
the brink, rather heated, stripped and plunged in, but 
this indulgence had nearly cost him his life ; a se- 
vere indisposition was the result of his imprudence. 

Mr. Fox was never- at any pains to conceal his 
vices and his foibles from the public, and it cannot 
therefore appear surprizing, if he occasionally re- 
ceived a gentle hint on' that subject. At a masque- 
rade at the Pantheon, in March 1778, a newspaper 
■was distributed among the company, entitled the 
American Gazette, published by order of Congress. 
One of these was put into the hands of Mr. Fox, 
who turned his eye first to the following paragraph 
of resolutions, passed by that assembly-—" That no 
plan of reconciliation will be regarded, unless Lord 
Chiithani is made premier ; Lord Camden lord- 
-chancellor ; the Kev John Home lord chiyef justice ; 



CHARLES JAMES TOK. 55 

the Plon. Charles Fox, archbishop of Canterbury 
and collector of the duties on cai'ds and dice. 

His antipathy to the Jews was so notorious, that, 
on the publication of Mademoiselle d'Eon's poetical 
Epistle to Lord Mansfield, which, at first, appeared 
without any name, it was ascribed by many to Mr. 
Fox, on account of the severity with which the chil- 
dren of Israel were treated in it. His own counte' 
nance, it was at the same time observed, was so 
strongly Judaic, that, had a stranger been asked at 
his Jerusalem levee which of the chosen race pre- 
sent had most of the blood of Jacob in his veins, Mr. 
Fox would have been pointed out as the man. 

Just after the prorogation of parliament, in 1778, 
Mr. Fox being one morning at Almack's, after los- 
ing all his money, and a short slumber, he started 
up, and sent for his valet : — ^*' Egad," said he " I 
shall be too late — my motion is to come on to-day.'* 
Almack set him right, and told him that he need not 
be in such a perturbation of spirits, as the parliament 
was prorogued. " Well, that may be," replied 
Charles, " I must raise supfilies then without the 
committee of ways and means,''* 

During the whole American war, Mr. Fox suc- 
cessively protested against every measure of hostility 
directed against the colonies ; and when he found 
that they had entered into treaties of commerce and 
amity with the kings of France and Spain, and that 
consequently both these powers were bound in gra- 
titude and good faith to assist them, as well against 
the resentment of Britain, as the endeavours of the 
ministry to destroy their connection. Mr. Fox de- 
ckired, that the duty of England, after the bloody 



56 THE l.irE OF 

transactions her unjust policy bad occasioned, was to 
endeavof to secure a large share of their commerce-. 
hy a perpetual alliance on a federal foundation. 

In the sessions of 1776, finding that all attempts 
to prevent the continuance of the' war were unavail- 
ing, the manner of conducting it next became a sub- 
ject of animadversion. In the discussion of this point 
in the House of Commons, Fox took the lead. The 
Americans, he contended, had been successful in the 
preceding campaign ; their success must have been 
owing either to the weakness or inadequacy of the 
ministerial plans, or to tlie misconduct or misfortune 
of the British naval and military commanders. He 
therefore moved an inquiry, as the means of fixing 
the blame if there were any. " Admitting," said he, 
" the coercion of America to be right, the question, 
now is about the means. The means have not hi- 
therto ansv/ered the end; we must inquire to what 
this has been owing, that we may apply better means, 
or apply them with greater vigour. If we wish to 
subdue America, let us see how it is to be done ; and 
for that purpose, what has till now prevented our 
progress." The necessity of this inquiry Mr. Fox, 
pressed with such force, that the ministry could not 
give him a direct answer, but were obliged to elude 
the question by the common place expedient, that 
this was not the proper time for an inquiry. In- 
deed, whenever Fox chose the right side, and ex. 
erted the whole force of his mind in support of it, 
evasion was the most prudent mode of opposition to 
his arguments. 

On the arrival of the news of the melancholy ca- 
tastrophe of Burgoyne's expedilion,Mr. Fox proposed 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 57 

a number of motions for inquiry into the state of the 
forces in America, from the commencement of the 
war, and of the losses that had been sustained. His 
object was to demonstrate, that the men and money 
employed in the contest had been thrown away, and 
that the reduction of America by force was an object 
not to be attained. This proposal was opposed by 
administration, who alledged that it would be impru- 
dent to expose the number of our forces. Mr. Fox 
asserted, that twenty thousand men had already 
perished in the contest, but the minister replied, that 
not more than tXvelve hundred had been slain. Ever 
prompt in the application of a just criterion, when 
truth was his object, Mr. Fox moved for an account 
of all the men sent to America, and of all that still re- 
mained, when the difference would be the amount of 
the loss sustained ; but the minister declined to fur- 
nish this information, on the ground of inexpediency. 
In the dispute between Admiral Keppel and Sir 
Hugh Paliiser — a dispute kindled entirely by the arti- 
fice of opposition, Mr. Fox, as might naturally be sup- 
posed, was extremely active in supporting the for- 
mer, who was his ra^.ation and partizan. Sir Hugh, 
in justice to his own character, was obliged to call for 
a court-martial on his commander and himself, and 
they were both honourably acquitted of any miscon- 
duct in the indicisive action which took place between 
them and the French fleet, in July 1779. * This dis- 
pute excited the utmost animosity not only in the 

* The trial of Admiral Keppel, is remarkable for having' 
afforded the first opportunity to one of tiie greatest judicial 
spejtkers of modern times (Mr. Erskine, now Lord Chancel- 
lor') to display his extraordinay powers. 



58 THE LIFE OF 

navy, but throughout the whole nation ; and during 
these commotions, Sir Hugh resigned his situation 
as lieutenant-general of the marines, together with 
Lis seat in parliament, to accommodate a timid minis- 
try overawed by a powerful opposition. The court- 
martial having pronounced his conduct highly merit- 
orious & exemplary, the minister soon afterwards con- 
ferred on him the appointment of governor of Green- 
wich Hospital, on the death of Sir Charles Hardy. 
This step was considered by Mr. Fox as a measure of 
so much criminality, so incongruous to the sense 
and derogatory to the honour of the nation, that it 
drew from the relative of Admiral Keppel a torrent 
of indignant oratory, and a motion of censure on the 
appointment. 

Mr. Fox has been heard to say, that all private 
aversions he sincerely and solemnly disclaimed : 
and he has often protested that there was not* that 
man upon earth against whom he harbored the least 
personal antipathy. >* Malignity," he has said, 
" is, I thank God, a sensation totally foreign to my 
feelings.'* Those, however, who recollect the point- 
ed and personal abuse which Mr. Fox never failed 
to lavish upon every occasion, upon Lord North, 
during the American contest, will justly be inclined 
to doubt the sincerity of these declarations. Tho 
bold and undisguised manner in which he spoke of 
men and their actions, not only involved him iu 
altercations, but, in one instance, brought his life into 
danger. 

In the session of 1779, Mr. Adam, a Scotch gen- 
tleman, and representative for Gatton, who had pre- 
viously acted iu concert with the minority, hinted to 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 59 

the house that he should vote with administration. 
This secession greatly altered the opinion of Mr. 
Adams's former friends concerning the integrity of 
his views, and raised the tone of the party he had 
joined. Ministers countenanced the idea that all the 
misfortunes and disasters in the prosecution of the 
war were chargeable to the opposition, who impeded 
the measures of government, and defeated its opera- 
tions. Mr. Fox warmly defended himself and his 
friends from the imputation df struggling as a party 
merely for place, power and emolument. Such a 
preposterous mode of slandering opposition, he ob- 
served, scarcely merited a serious answer. — " I can 
bear well enough, in some respects," said he, "and 
even make allowance for the ignorance, folly, incapa- 
city, corruption, love of place, emolument and power 
in these men. I can even pity them for their wants, 
their impudence, and their gross stupidity. I feel 
for their miserable infatuation, not knowing whether 
to rush headlong into immediate ruin, or retreat with 
safety. Despicable and unprincipled as they are, I 
have nevertheless learned to regard their persons 
with respect, from the conspicuous stations they hold 
in the view of the public. But when such men, thus 
involved, and involving others in every possible mis- 
fortune and disgrace, urge their claims of merit for 
what deserves an axe or a halter, and, under a com- 
plication of great national calamities, coolly contend 
that those disasters, which every individual feels, do 
not exist or if they do, that they ought justly to be a- 
scribed to (Opposition ; such a lump of deformity and 
disease, of folly and wickedness, of ignorance and 
temerity, thus deeply and incurably smitten with 



60 THE LIFE OF 

pride, and distended by audacity, breaks all measures 
of patience." 

This portraiture of the new associates of Mr. Adam, 
was rather galling- to that gentleman ; it is, therefore, 
not very surprizing that a misconstruction in a warm 
debate should lead him to think his personal honour 
implicated by the pointed allusions to the whole party 
of which he had become a member. Mr. Adam was 
alawyer,but he forgot that it was wrong to strengthen 
by his own example, a custom sanctioned by the sav- 
age etiquette of puerile resentment, which often 
stakes a valuable life againt the most worthless, and 
involves the innocent in those calamities which 
should be the exclusive portion of the guilty. 

The day after the obnoxious expressions had been 
uttered by Mr. Fox, he received a note from Mr. 
Adam to the following effect ; 

" Mr. Adam presents his compliments to Mr. Fox, and 
begs leave to represent to him, that upon considering again 
and again what passed between them last night, it is impos- 
sible for him to have his character cleared to.the public 
without inserting the following paragraph in the news- 
papers : 

" We have authority to assure the public that, In a con- 
versation that passed between Mr. Fox and Mr. Adam, m 
consequence of the debate in the House of Commons on 
Thursday last, Mr. Fox declared, that, however much his 
speech may have been misrepresented, he did not mean to 
throw any personal reflection upon Mr. Adam." 

In a postscript was added : 

" Major Humberston does me the honour of delivering 
this to you, and* will bring your answer." 

The reply of Mr. Fox was as follows : 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. (31 

. "Sir, 

" I am sorry it is utterly inconsistent v.ith my ideas of 
propriety to authorise the putting- any thing- into tlie news- 
papers relative to a speech, which, in my opinion, required 
no explanation. You, who heard the speech, must know 
tliat it conveyed no personal reflection upon you, unless you 
i'elt yourself in the predicament upon which I animadverted. 
The account of m}' speech in the newspapers is certainly in- 
correct, and as certainly unauthorised by me ; and therefore, 
with respect to that I have nothing to say. Neither the con- 
^ersation that passed at Brooks's nor this letter is of a secret 
nature ; and if you have any wish to relate the one, or shew 
the other, you are perfectly at liberty to do so. 

I am, &c. &c. 

"C.J. FOX. 

The result was a duel which took place on the 
morning of the 28th of November. Mr. Adam was 
accompanied by Major Humberston, and Mr. Fox by 
Colonel Fitzpatrick. 

The following account of this affair was published 
by the seconds : 

*'In consequence of a previous misunderstanding tlieymet^ 
according to agi-eement, at eight o'clock in the morning. 
After the ground was measured out at the distance of four- 
teen paces, Mr. Adam desired Mr. Fox to fire, to which Mr 
Fox replied — * Sir I have no quarrel v>'ith you ; do you fire' 
— Mr. Adam then fired and wounded Mr. Fox, which we 
ijelieve was iiot at all perceived by Mr, Adam, as it was not 
distinctly seen by either of ourselves ; Mr. Fox fired with- 
out effect ; we then interfered, asking Mr. Adam if he was 
satisfied. Mr. Adam replied : * Will Mr. Fox declare he 
meant no personal attack upon ray character r' Upon which 
Mr. Fox said : * This is no place for apologies,' and desired 
him to go on. Mr. Adam fired his second pistol without ef- 
fect ; Mr. Fox fired his remaining p'stol in the air, and then 
F 



62 THE LIFE OF 

■saying', as the affair was ended, he had no difficulty in de- 
daring- he meant no more personal affront to Mr. Adam than 
he did to any other gentleman present. Mr. Adam replied : 
*Sir, you have behaved like a -man of honor.' Mr. Fox then, 
mentioned that he believed himself wounded, and upoi-j open- 
ing his waistcoat, it was found he was so, but to all appear- 
ance slightly. The parties then separated, and Mr. Fox's 
wound Wife, on examination, found not likely to produce any 
dangerous consequences. 

" RICHARD FITZPATRICK. 

«T. MACKENZIE HUMBERSTON." 

This affair had the effect of increasing the popu- 
larity of Mr. Fox. The fortitude, generosity and 
courage he had displayed, exalted him in the public 
opinion, and he was visited and congratulated on his 
escape by many of the most distinguished characters 
in the kingdom. He soon recovered of his vi^ound ; 
for on the 6th of December we find him in the House 
delivering an eloquent harangue on the affairs of Ire- 
land. " What was it," he aked, " that had armed forty- 
two thousand men in Ireland which arguments carri- 
ed on the points of forty-two thousand bayonets ? The 
American war. It was this ruinous war that brought 
on the distresses of Ireland. It was this war that had 
obliged this government to abandon that of Ireland. 
It was this war that had consequently armed Ireland ; 
and in short, reduced the people to associate, in order 
to defend themselves, as well against their domestic 
enemies, tlie ministers of Great Britain, as their fo- 
reign foes. The Irish associations have been termed 
illegal ; but legal or illegal, he entirely approved of 
them. He approved of that manly determination 
which, as the last resort, flies to arms to obtain de- 
liverance. When the last particle of good faith in 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 63 

men is entirely exhausted, they will seek in them- 
selves the means of redress ; they will recur to first 
principles ; to the spirit as well as to the letter of the 
constitution: and they can never fail in such resources, 
though the law may literally condemn such a depar- 
ture frorn its general and unqualified rules ; for truth, 
justice and public virtue, accompanied with prudence 
and judgment, will ever bear up good men in a good 
cause, that of private protection and national salva- 
tion." 

Among the various subjects of attack against the 
administration, the waste of the public money was 
one of the most important. The burthen of the im- 
posts began to be sensibly felt, and the means of re- 
ducing them to be discussed not only by the senate, 
but by the people at large. The subject rouzedthe 
attention of the inhabitants of the metropolis, and of 
the different counties of the kingdom. The county 
ofYork took the lead, and the example was followed 
by Westminster. A meeting was held in the hall of 
the said city, and Mr. Fox was unanimously called to 
the chair. Petitions were prepared, and associations 
formed all over the kingdom, for the purpose of pro- 
curing a decrease in the public expenditure, and a 
more equal representation in parliament. 

In the parliament which was dissolved in the year 
1780, Gibbon, the celebrated historian, had a seat. 
What Mr. Fox thought of the political principles 
of that gentleman, v.-as made public in a singular 
manner. On the sale of his library the following- 
memorandum and verses were found v/ritten in the 
first volume of Gibbon's history, on the author's ac- 
cepting a seat at the Board of Trade. 



64 THE LIFE OF 

" The author of this book, upon the delivery of the 
Spanish rescript,inl779,declarecl publicly at Brooks's 
— ^ That there was no salvation for this country un- 
less six of the heads of the cabinet council were cut 
off and laid upon the tables of the houses of parlia- 
ment as examples' — and in less than a fortnight after 
this declaration, he took an employment under that 
same cabinet council.'* 

THE VERSES. 

•♦ King George in a fright. 
Lest Gibbon should write 

The story of Britain's disgrace. 
Thought no means niore suce 
His pen to secure. 

Than to give the historian a place. 

But his caution is vain, 
'Tis the curse of his reign 

That his projects sliould never succeed . 
Though he ywhe not a line. 
Yet a cause of decline 

In the author's example we read. 

His book well describes 
How corruption and bribes 

Overthrew the great empire of Rome ;- 
And his writings declare 
A degen'racy there. 

Which his conduct exhibits at home." 

The discontents occasioned by the conduct of ad- 
ministration became more and more general. The 
active part taken by Mr. Fox at the meetings of the 
electors of Westminster acquired him great popu- 
larity, and he received the most flattering assurances 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 65 

of support, if he chose to offer himself as a candidate 
for the representation of that city. Encouraged by 
these promises, Mr. Fox suffered himself to be pro- 
posed at the general election in 1 780. Notwithstand" 
ing the powerful opposition he experienced from the 
Newcastle family, the Man of the People^ as he began 
about this time to be styled, secured his election. 

Such was the animosity which prevailed on this 
occasion, that a few days afterwards it was current- 
ly reported that Mr. Fox had been killed in a duel by 
Lord Lincoln, the rival candidate. An immense con- 
course of people immediately assembled round Mr. 
Fox's house to inquire the truth. A wag passing by 
at the same time advised them not to mak'e them- 
selves uneasy, " for," says he, " you may depend up- 
on it there is no truth in it, otherwise the Tower guns 
would certainly have been fired on the occasion." 
This observation struck many of them so forcibly that 
they immediately departed perfectly satisfied. 

A scrutiny was expeo^ed to have taken place, but 
when all the necessary forms had been gone through 
previous to commencing it,LordLincoln declined giv- 
ing any further trouble, as his friends had discovered 
that a legal majority of the electors were in favour of 
Sir G. Rodney and Mr. Fox. 

In February 1781, Mr. Burke revived his plan of 
economy, which he had unsuccessfully proposed in 
the preceding session of parliament. In this busi- 
ness he experienced the cordial co-operation of Mr. 
Fox, and their exertions were seconded by one who 
was destined to make a distinguished figure on the 
theatre of politics as the rival of the latter. On this 
question William Pitt, then in his 22d year, made 
F 2 



66 ■ THE LIFE Oi ' 

his first speech in the House of Commons, and he ac- 
quitted himself in such a manner as to justify the an- 
ticipation of the public in his favour. Though he join- 
ed, in some measure, the party headed by Fox and 
Burke, he, however, maintained the sentiments of his 
father with respect to the independence of America. 

Towards the close of the session, a motion was 
made and introduced by the energetic eloquence of 
Fox, for the house to resolve itself into a committee, to 
consider of the American war ; but though it was sup- 
ported by the whole force of opposition, by a rare 
combination of talents of the highest rank, by Fox, by 
Pitt, by Burke, by Dunning, and by Sheridan, their 
exertions failed of producing the desired object. 

The ill success of the operations in America, and 
the capture of Lord Cornwallis, furnished - the oppo- 
sition with new matter for criminating the ministry. 
It was concerted, that immediately after the Christ- 
mass recess, Mr. Fox should make a motion for an 
investigation into the conduct of Lord S?Jidwich, who 
was at the head of the Admiralty. Indisposition for 
some days prevented that orator from attending the 
house, on which Mr. Burke said : " No one laments 
Mr.. Fox*s illness more than myself, and I delare, 
that should his indisposition continue, the inquiry in- 
to- the conduct of the first lord of the Admiralty shall 
be proceeded in. SLculd even the country suffer a 
calamity so serious, as his death, still it ought to be 
followed up earnestly and solemnly ; nay, of so much 
importance is this inquiry to' the public, that no bad 
■use would be made of the skin of my departed friend, 
(should svich be his fate) if, like that of John Zisca^ 



CHARLES Jx\MES FOX-. 67 

it be converted into a drum, and used for the purpose 
of sounding an alarm to the people of England." 

The illness of Mr. Fox "vvas not however of long 
continuance. On the 7th of February, 1782, he 
commenced his attack on the ministry, by moving 
accusations against Lord Sandwich, under five se- 
veral heads, which he simimed up as the ground of 
a resolution declaratory of mismanagement in naval 
affairs. Though the motion was negatived, yet the 
majority was so small as to render it probable that 
ministers could not much longer maintain their 
ground. After the debate on this subject, when the 
minority were returning into the house from the lob- 
by on the division, having lost their question, the fa- 
cetious Mr. Selwyn, just as Mr. Fox was passing by 
him, put himself into the attitude of a banker tallying 
at faro, and making, as though he turned up cards to 
the right and to the left, called out in the style of that 
game, " Charles, knave looses — king Avins." A hon 
mot which at that time was received with universal 
applause. 

Soon afterwards Lord John Cavendish made a 
motion, declaring, that the house could no longer re- 
pose confidence in the ministry, which was rejected 
by a small majority ; but on a similar motion being 
made after an interval of a few days. Lord North 
rose and declared he was no longer minister. In the 
month of march a new administration was formed ; 
the Marquis of Rockingham was its nominal head ; 
but Mr. Fox, as secretary of state, became the prin- 
cipal efficient minister. 

At this period of Mr. Fox's history, it may not be 
€leemed improper to take a brief retrospective view 
of his political and public conduct. 



6S THE LIFE or 

From his first entrance into public life Mr. Fox 
Lad a desperate game ta play, and he played it on 
the principles of a des.perate gamester. He first 
appeared as the public encomiast and personal friend 
of Lord North, 3Jid that at a time when it was the.. 
fashion to carry the prerogative to its utmost extent. 

The old Whig interest was then in strong opposi- 
tion to the court; nor had Whigs at that period for- 
feited every pretension to principle. Mr. Fox op- 
posed them — spoke against them—turned them into 
ridicule — was the most forward in suppressing the 
spirit of liberty out of the House of Commons, and 
the foremost in recommending prosecutions against 
those who supported^the people's rights, and who 
exposed the weakness of the most unfortunate admi- 
nistration with which the kingdom had ever been 
cursed. 

It certainly was suspected that this conduct of 
Mr. Fox was well calculated to advance his interest 
at St. James's. Lord North, though a professed 
Tory, wanted a little of Mr. Fox's boldness. He 
declined to go the violent lengths which Mr. Fox 
had recommended, and in consequence that gentle- 
man was dismissed from the Treasury Board with 
every circumstance of rudeness and personal insult. 

By this conduct Lord North proved himself a 
short-sighted politician. Mr. Fox, finding one ave- 
nue to preferment closed upon him, shook off with 
the utmost ease his old connexions and his old prin- 
ciples. The Whigs who, for four years, had smarted 
under the lash of his eloquence, refused him their 
confidence until the breach between Lord North and 
him a'ppeared irreparable. Fromi theii* decided ene- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. , 69 

lYiy he became their leadem — With indefatigable in- 
dustry he opposed, for more than seven years, every 
measure of Lord North's administration, and with as 
strong marks of personal enmity and insult as parlia- 
mentary terms would allow. For the same space of 
time he was the champion of the people against a 
majority of the House of Commons, whose proceed- 
ings he canvassed, exposed and ridiculed at the 
Shakspeare, the King's Arms, and among a mob in 
Westminster-hall. 

At length, when even in the opinion of the most 
sanguine the country was in a very miserable state, 
but absolutely ruined in the opinion of Mr. Fox, the 
king resigned himself implicitly into the hands of fi 
new administration. 

Mr. Fox now came into power with th€ favourite 
appellation of the Man of the People, and with the 
support of the Whig families, who, though inherit- 
ing the estates, displayed none of the splendid abi- 
lities^of their ancestors. In this administration were 
combined the king's friends, as they were called, the 
Rockingham and Newcastle Whigs, and the Pitt and 
Grenville Whigs. Those who were distinguished 
as the king's friends, were not, however, disposed to 
act cordially with a party whose avowed object was 
to restore the reign of the Whig aristocracy, and to 
conciliate to the great Whig families the favour of 
the people, by concessions which were judged to be 
not perfectly compatible with the order of good go- 
vernment. 

The first measure proposed by Mr. Fox as mini- 
ster, appeared rather too precipitate. Overtures of 
peace were made to Holland and America, but by 



rO THE LIFE OF 

the former they were received very coldly. Mr. 
Fox soon afterwards brought a message from the 
king, recommending the adoption of a plan for the 
retrenchment of the piibic expenditure. The object 
of this was to pave the way to the revival of Burke's 
reform bill, which passed after it had undergone se- 
veral modifications. Various popular measures were 
proposed and adopted. Contractors were excluded, 
by act of parliament, from the House of Commons ; 
officers of the customs and excise were disqualified 
from voting at elections ; and the resolutions of 1769, 
relative to the Middlesex election, was expunged 
from the journals of the house. The only party- 
measure with which this administration could be 
charged, was the appointment of Admiral Pigot to 
supercede Rodney, of whose glorious victory, on the 
12th of April, they were still ignorant. They were 
proceeding to carry into execution all their plans for 
domestic government, and for the arrangement of the 
foreign affairs of the empire, when the death of the 
Marquis of Rockingham, the nominal head of the 
whole party, enabled the sovereign to emancipate 
himself from its controul. 
L^-^The Marquis of Rockingham died on the 1st of 
July. Upon this event Mr. Fox expected to be cal- 
led by the sovereign to fill the post of prime minister. 
Several days, however, elapsing, without this expec- 
tation being verified, he summoned a secret council 
at his house in Grafton-street, consisting of the Ca- 
vendishes, Lord Keppel, Mr Burke, the duke of 
Richmond, Mr. T. Townshend, &c. when he con- 
cisely informed them, that unless they firmly united 
to oppose such a measure, the Earl of Shelburne 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 71 

would be appointed minister. On this it was unani- 
mously agreed, that the Duke of Portland would be 
an excellent man of straw for prime minister under 
their auspices, and that Mr. Fox should immediately 
v/ait upon the king with a strong recommendation of 
his grace by this majority of his cabinet. Mr. Fox, 
however, reached the closet only time enough to 
learn that Lord Shelburne had just gone out with the 
appointment of first lord of the Treasury. Mr. Fox 
expressing great astonishment on hearing this, asked 
his Majesty, if, under this circumstance, he had any 
objection to his (Mr. Fox's) naming the new secre- 
tary of state ? To this his majesty replied : " That, 
sir, is already done." On which Mr. Fox rejoined 
— " Then I trust your majesty can dispense with my 
services." The answer to this was, " certainly, sir, 
if you feel them the least irksome." Mr. Fox bowed, 
retired, and the next day had a farther audience, 
only to deliver up the seals of his office. — Mr. Pitt, 
who had refused a high situation in the Rockingham 
ministry, was appointed Chancellor of the Exche- 
quer ; and Lord Temple succeeded Mr. Fox as Se- 
cretary of State for the northern department. 

The sentiments expressed by Mr. Fox, on quit- 
ting administration, were highly honourable. " In 
resigning my situation as secretary of state," said he, 
*' I am not insensible to the convenience, I might al- 
most say, to the necessity of its emolument ; but in a 
case where honour c-' profit must be sacrificed, I 
could not be long in resolving what to do. I dictate 
to no gentleman hov/ he is to act ; but as there are 
several in the same pi^dicament with myself, if they 
feel as I do, they will act as I do. 



'7'2 THE LIFE OF 

Indignant at the secret manner of Lord Shelburne's 
elevation,* after they had considered him as having 
agreed that the Duke of Portland should be invested 
with the office of prime ministei;, several of Mr. 
Fox's friends followed his example. Among these 
were Mr. Burke and Lord John Cavendish. In the 
next meeting of parliament each of them, in an able 
speech, assigned the motives of their resignation^ 
Lord Shelburne was known to be hostile to the inde- 
pendence of America ; the declaration of which wa3 
considered, by Fox and his party, as an indispensable 
preliminary to peace. Mr. Pitt, on this occasion, 
bore honourable testimony to the merits of Mr. Fox. 
He said, he could not think the retreat of the right 
iionourable gentleman warrantable at such a crisis, 
and that his singular abilities marked him to be pub- 
lic firoperty . 

* To demonstrate the-'habitual insincerity of this noble- 
vnan, the following anecdote was about tliis time related as 
a fact well known at St. James's, and to those who frequented 
the political circles. When Lord Shelburne, was a young 
man, he was employed by the Earl of Bute to negcciate be- 
tween him and the father of Mr. Fox, who had been promis- 
ed, through Lord Shelburne, the dignity of eari From some 
intrigues in the cabinet this was opposed, and the rank of 
baron only was conferred. Lord Bute was at a loss how 
to act, as he had promised the earldom ; lie mentioned 
his embarrasment to Lord Siielburne, w^lio undertook 
to extricate liim, by desiring the earl to say, that if Lord 
Shelburne had promised tliat dig-nity, he exceeded his 
commission. Mr. Fox said he would leave tlie matter en- 
tirely to the young nobleman with whom he ncgociated. 
Lord Shelburne was sent foi*, fi-d, with unblushing front, 
insisted that he had promised only a barony. Mr. Fox, asto- 
nished at such behaviour, was silent for some moments ; 
wiien lie recovered liimself, lie addressed Lord Shelburne 
in these words : — " Young man, you have begun your politi- 
cal hfe with an act that generally terminates the political 
existence of the oldest statesmen, falshood and deceit." 



CHARLES JAMES i'OX. 73 

» 

So persuaded was the Duke of Portland that Mr. 
Fox could not remain in office,if Lord Shelburne were. 
appointed first lord of the treasury, that as soon as he 
heard of the appointment, he wrote a letter from Dub- 
lin to Mr. Fox, which he directed to the lion. Charles 
James Fox,, and began it by remarking, that if Mr. 
Fox read the superscription he would see that he took 
il for granted, he would' be a private man again before 
the letter would reach him, as he could not imagine 
it possible that two such opposites as he and Lord 
Shelburne could ever coalesce. 

Soon after the resignation of Mr. Fox and his 
friend^, the well-known Charles Maklin being asked 
his opinion (^them, replied : " I am no astronomer, 
but they seem to me to be wandering planets ; though 
it would be much better for the people of this distract- 
ed country, if they were fixed stars at Tyburn, or 
Temple Bar." 

About this time Mr. Fox conceived a strong attach- 
ment to the celebrated Tvlrs. Robinson, who was then 
distinguished by the appellation of Perdita. She had 
a house in Berkley-square, which commanded a view 
of the princely mansion of Loixl Shelburne. Here 
Mr. Fox was so constant in his attentions, that his 
friends seldom saw his face. A gentleman one day 
raeeting him accidentally, asked him the reason of 
his absence from Brookes's, where his friends used to 
«njoy his company and conversation almost every 
evening. " You know," replied the orator, with his 
usual pi'esence of mind, " I have pledged myself to 
the public to have a strict eye on Lord Shelburne's 
Biotions ; that is my sole motive for residing in Ber]?e- 



74 



THE J-IFE OF 



ley-square, and that, you may tell ray friends, is the 
reason they have not seen me at Brookes*s.'* 

Notwithstanding this reply Mr. Fox never attempt- 
ed to conceal this intrigue. He appeared in public 
with Mrsi Robinson, and drove about with her in her 
own carriage. This furnished the witty George Sel- 
wyn an opportunity to observe, at Arthur's , that " the 
connection was perfectly right ; the Man of the Peo- 
ple^ and no other, should be the cicisbeo to the Wo- 
man of the People." 

Mrs. Robinson's affairs soon afterwards became so 
much involved, that she was under the necessity of 
going to the continent, to avoid the importunities of 
her creditors. Her place, in Mr. Fox's affections, 
was supplied by Mrs. Armstead. Of this lady, it was 
observed, that she was the most extraordinary char- 
acter in the class to which she belonged. She lived 
in splendor, kept two sets of horses for her carriages, 
a proportionable establishment of servants ; her table 
was the constant resort of all the young men of fa- 
shion in the kingdom ; yet no one ever heard of any 
person being ruined by his attachment to her, which 
is more than can be said of any other woman who 
has been fashionable for many years. For a consid- 
erable time previous to her connexion with Mr. Fox, 
Mrs. Armstead had been the chtre amie of Lord 
George H. Cavendish. His lordship's conduct to- 
wards her was generous and noble. On their separa- 
tion he made her a liberal settlement, and their inti- 
macy was only dissolved in consequence of an advan- 
tageous marriage with a lady, who is a pattern to her 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 75 

It was probably about this period that Mr. Fox 
composed the following 

INVOCA TION TO PO VER TV. ' 

O Po.vERTY ! of pale consumptive hue. 
If tliou delight'st to haunt me still in view, 
If still thy presence must ray steps attend. 
At least continue, as thou art, my friend. 
When Scotch example bids me be unjust. 
False to my word, unfaithful to my trust. 
Bid me the baneful error quickly see. 
And shim the world to find repose with thee. 
When vice to wealth would turn my partial eye, 
Or int'rest shut my ear to sorrow's cry. 
Or courtiers' custom would my reason bind 

My foe to flatter, or desert my friend, 

Oppose, kind Poverty, thy temper'd shield, 
Andbear me ofTunvanquish'dfrom tlie field 

'^ If g-Iddy fortune e*cr return again. 
With all her idle, restless, wanton train ; 
Her mag-ic g'lass should false ambition hoM. 
Or av'rice bid me put my trust in g-old ; 
To my relief then virtuous goddess, haste, 
And with thee bring thy daugliters ever chaste- 
Health, Liberty, and Wisdom, sisters bright. 
Whose charms can make the worst condition ligdi. 
Beneath the hardest fate the mind can cheer. 
Can heal affliction, and disarm despair ; 
In chains, in torments, pleasures can bequeath. 
And dress in smiles the tyrant-hour of death 1" 



On the meeting of parliament in the winter of 1782, 
Mr. Fox found himself too weak to act without assist- 
ance, tind he now thought it high time to play a new 



76 TEE LITE OF 

game. Perceiving the grov/ing strength of those by 
whom he am] his adherents had been supplanted, and 
how utterly unable they were to make any -effectual 
opposition, he opened a negoeiation and signed a 
treaty with Lord North, that nian whom he had des- 
cribed as the " submissive minister of the crown," 
" the supporter of corrupt infiuence," " the patron of 
contractors," " the father of jobs," " the enemy of 
America," "'the sleeping state pilot," " the man whose 
blood was to expiate the calamities he had brought 
on his country." Such were the epithets he had him- 
self applied to Lord North for eight successive years, 
and yet, with this man did Mr. Fox now unite. 

The causes which more immediately led to this 
political connection, are probably known only to a 
few, and these m^ay^^iiot be in haste to reveal them. 
The conduct of public men is not sometimes so hap- 
py as to carry its reasons on tlie face of it, and the real 
inotives, which confound the pursuits- and annihi- 
late the distinction of parties, are seldom avowed- 
With regard to tiiis coalition between Mr. Fox and 
Lord North, which proved peculiarly obnoxious to 
the majority of the nation, it was insinuated that 
tlie latter was induced to accede to the measure in 
consequence of debts to a considerable amount, con- 
tracted by his son at the gaming-table, and a largo 
])ortion of which v. ere due to Mr. Fox. 

Be this at it may on the signature of the prelimi- 
nary treaty with France and Spain, when the terms 
\, ere submitted to parliament, they excited the ut- 
^iiost disaf>pr6bation of Mr. Fox, Lord North, and 
their respective friends ; though the former had af- 
lirmed, that peace upon any terms would be desirable. 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 77 

The coalition incurred the bitterest invectivess both 
in and out of parliament, but it procured a majority 
in the house, and passed a vote of censure on the 
ministry. Of the combined pai^es, it was impossi- 
ble to assert that either the one or the other enjoyed 
the confidence of the sovereign, or of the people ; 
they, nevertheless,claimed a right to seize the govern- 
ment on this ground alone, that they had a ma- 
jority of the House of Commons in their favour ; and, 
after an ineffectual struggle of six weeks, their ad- 
versaries v/ere completely driven out of the field. 
The king was obliged to yield to the torrent. A new- 
administration was formed, the eiiicient authority 
of which was divided between Mr. Fox and Lord 
North, who were appointed the principal secretaries 
of state, while Lord John Cavendish v. as made chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, and the Duke of Portland 
was placed at the head of the treasury. 

Mr. Fox having now accomplished the object of 
his ambition, continued nevertheless to adhere to 
the counsel given him by his father, from Avhich, it 
must be acknowledged, he never swerved. In a 
letter, written with his own hand. Lord Holland gave 
his son the following advice, on the subject of his 
political conduct : Aspire, Charles, to the first em- 
ployments, but do not aim at being a favourite ; that 
is acquired with difficulty, preserved with anxiety, 
and lost often with despair." 

On coming into office, Mr. Fox sold his horses, 
and erased his name from the books of the several 
clubs ofv/hichhe was a member, and received the 
praise due to such a laudable sacrifice of his private 
pi-open si tics to his public duties. It was not long, 
' G 2 



t « ^ THE LIFE OF 

however, before he again purchased horses, and, in 
October, IZSS, he attended the meeting at New- 
market. . The kmg's messenger was obliged to ap- 
pear on the course%) seek one of the ministers of 
England among the horsemen on the turf, to deliver 
him dispatches, on which the fate of the country 
might have depended. The messenger was observ- 
ed, as if part of the shame was his to be seen at such 
a place, v/ith the grey-hound under cover^ and all the 
marks of office studiously concealed. 

With the aid of Lord North's old fiiends and con- 
tractors, and with such assistance as the Cavendishes 
and Benticks could give him, Mr. Fox struggled 
tljrough that session ; but he was too wise not to 
know, that without some additional influence to coun- 
teract the king and the people, it would be impossi- 
ble for him to stand. 

Soon after the prorogation of parliament, the de- 
iinitive treaty with France and Spain was concluded 
at Paris. A few days before its arrival in London, 
Mr. Fox was boasting at Brookes's of the advanta- 
geous peace he had ratified, considering the odious 
preliminaries on which he had to ground it ; and, 
among other circumstances, said, he had at length 
pt'e vailed upon the court of Versailles to relinquish all 
pretensions to the gum trade in favour of Great Bri- 
tain. Mr. Selwyn, who was present, and appeared 
fo be asleep in his chair, immediately exclaimed : — 
'^ That, friend Charles, I am not at all surprised at ; 
for, having permitted the French to draw your teethy 
they would be d — d fools indeed to quarrel with you 
about your gums" 



CHARLES JAMES TOK, 79 

As the ministry had been active before the close 
of the session in procurin,^ a separate establishment 
for the Prince of Wales, its leading members were 
frequently in the company of his royal highness. 
This laid the foundation of a friendship between the 
piince and Mr. Fox, which has continued uninter- 
rupted ever since. It cannot be doubted, that the 
example of that statesman and some of his associates, 
had the effect of strengthening in the heir apparent 
to the throne propensities not perfectly compatible 
with the dignity of royalty. Encouraged by them, 
he plunged with eagerness into all the fashionable 
extravagancies and follies of the day, and frequently 
found himself in situations ill befitiug his distin- 
guished rank. These, however, often elicjted traits 
highly honorable to the good sense and understand- 
ing of the prince ; as the following fact will demon- 
strate. 

In the month of April 1784, his royal Highness 
and three of his gay companions, elated with the 
bottle, were interrupted by the wajch in a mid- 
niglit frolic, and, after a scufRe, overpowered and 
taken to the watch-house in Mount-street. The 
party were obliged to send for one of their trades- 
men, who on entering, started at the sight of the 
prince. The constable and watchmen, on discover- 
ing the rank of their prisoner, pressed round him, 
and hoped his royal highness would not be offended 
at their having detained him. The pririce, who was 
only elevated with wine, exclaimed : — '* Offended ! 
my good fellows !— By no means. — Thank God, the 
laws of this country are superior to rank ; and when 
men of high station forget the decorum of the com- 



80 THE LIFE OF 

nity, it is fit that no distinction should be made with 
respect to them. It should make an Englishman 
proud, to see the Prince of Wales obliged to send 
for a tailor to bail him.*' 

The session of Parliament opened on the 1 1th of 
November, 1783, and, on the 18th, Mr. Fox introdu- 
ced, in a speech that few have equalled, and he him- 
self never surpassed, his famous bill for the govern- 
ment of India. The system proposed by Fox 
characterizexl his ardent and daring spirit, his com- 
prehensive, expanded, and inventive genius. He 
assumed the position that the East India company 
had so completely piismanaged their affairs, as to 
be in a state of insolvency, and that their servants had 
been guilty of the most atrocious oppression in India. 
To prevent the continuance of this mismanagement, 
he proposed to take from the East India Company all 
controul over their affairs, territorial and commercial, 
and to vest all the i>ower they possessed in the hands 
of certain commissioners, to be appointed in the 
first instance by the whole legislature, and afterwards 
by the crown. Eight of the particular friends of INIr. 
Fox were mentioned as the intended commissioners. 

In the opposition to this bill Mr. Pitt and Mr. 
Dundas took a decided part. It was attacked, by the 
former, as an infringement, or rather annihilation, of 
the company's charter ; the violation of which would 
augur very unfavourably for the security of all char- 
tered rights. He insisted that, besides its injustice to 
the company,it would be dangerous to the constitutioo, 
by establishing an influence independent of the legis- 
lature ; an hifluence, whicli, from its nature, would be 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 81 

under the controul of its creator, Mr. Fox. He did 
not hesitate to impute a plan so unjust and unconsti- 
tional, to an ambitious desire of becoming perpetual 
dictator. Dundas coinciding with the ideas of Mr. 
Pitt, entered into a detailed discussion of Mr. Fox*s 
statement of the finances of the company, insisting 
that their affairs were by no means in the desperate 
state that Fox had alleged. The proprietors and 
directors of the East India Company petitioned the 
house not to pass a bill, operating as the confiscation 
of their property and the annihilation of their char- 
ter, before they had proofs of specific delinquen- 
cy, which alone could justify such a measure. 
The people in general, were strongly impressed 
with the validitity of the arguments adduced by the 
opposers of the bill, and by the representations of 
those whose rights and property it appeared so mate- 
rially to affect. 

The bill, nevertheless, passed the House of Com- 
mons, by a very great majority ; but it was unex- 
pectedly thrown out by the peers. The Pitt and 
Grenville whigs looked upon this as no common 
scheme of opposition, which, if successful, must have 
excluded them from ail hope of ministerial emolu- 
ment and power. Those who were distinguished by 
the appellation of the king's friends, saw their politi- 
cal existence threatened by this measure Vv'ith utter 
annihilation. Even the sovereign himself began to 
be alarmed for the honour of the crown ; and, though 
the ministry had a majority in parliament, he thought 
fit to dismiss them from their offices, to which Mr. 
Pitt and his friends were appointed. 



82 THE LIFE OF 

The circumstances attending* the dismissal of Miv 
Fox and his colleagues were rather singular. At 
twelve o'clock, on the night of the 13th of Decem- 
ber, Mr. Fox and Lord North, the other secretary 
of state, were informed, by a special messenger, that 
his Majesty had no longer occasion for their servi- 
ces, and desiring them to render up the seals of their 
offices : at the same time mentioning, that it was the 
royal pleasure that they should be delivered to him 
by the under secretaries, as a personal interview on 
the occasion would be disagreeable to him. The 
secrecy with which the measures, preparatory to 
this change, were carried on, was such, that though 
Mr. Fox had an interview with his Majesty the same 
day, and had a select party of friends at his house at 
ten o'clock in the evening, yet notliing of the opera- 
tions had transpired. 

The Prince of Wales acted on this occasion with 
the greatest dignity and manliness. He all along 
declared his approbation of the intended system for 
the government of India, and knew not that his royal 
father was inimical to the bill ; but finding that he 
was so, he went into the closet, and gave the most 
unequivocal proofs of his filial duty and attachment. 
At the same time, he begged leave to do honourable 
justice to Mr. Fox, and assured the king, that in all 
his conversations, so far from instigating him to a 
breach, that gentleman had inculcated the virtue of 
strict and perfect cordiality with the court. 

Previous to the meeting of parliament after Mr. 
Fox's dismissal, the following jeu d'esfirii made its 
appearance : ) 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 85 

" Intelligence Extraordinary . 

" On Monday, for the entertainment of British 
sportsmen, a noble huiiting; matph will take place 
upon St. Stephen's common, in conse5ciuence of a 
remarkably fine Fox having been lately turned out 
of the King's park. The attention of the public has 
been uncommonly attracted upon this occasion ; 
and the odds are six to four that Reynard will not be 
run down. 

Though the hunters are well mounted, many ex- 
perienced jockeys are of opinion, that they will not be 
able to kee/i their seats^ and others think that the/m/z- 
fiies of the pack ai'e not sufficiently staunch or entire- 
ly at command. It is whispered also, that what the 
enemies of Reynard cannot accomplish by difair chascy 
they mean to effect by way o^ fraud, a very capa- 
cious Pit being in his way ; though it is generally im- 
agined that instecd o{ falling into it, the animal, from 
his known sagacity, will either run round^or lea/i over 
it ; and that upon the whole, instead of a Fox-hunt, it 
is not improbable the day's sport will end in a ivild- 
goose chase /" 

Being thus finally worsted in a contest with the 
crown, and the Pitt and Grenville division of the 
Whigs, Mr. Fox returned to his former station as a 
leader of opposition. Not content with this charac- 
ter alone,he resumed that of the popular demagogue. 
He called meetings of his constituents, who assem- 
bled in Westminster-hall, where he endeavoured to 
inflame their minds against the new administration. 
Atone of these meetings on , the 14th of February, 
1784, a bag was introduced by some unseen hand un- 
der the eminence on the hustings upon which Mr, 



84 THE LIFE OP 

Fox Stood ; the noisome effluvia arising from it in 
a cloud for several minutes, affected him so much, 
as almost to deprive him of breath. Its contents 
were afterwards examined by a chemist of eminence, 
who declared them to be a mixture of euphorbium 
and capsicum, two of the most subtle poisons in na- 
ture, whose quality it is to ulcerate and blister what- 
ever they touch. A reward of two hundred pounds 
was offered by the Westminster Committee for the 
discovery of the authors of this unmanly trick. 

This circumstance furnished Mr. Sayre,of Gray*s 
Inn, with a subject for an ingenious caricature, repre- 
senting Mr. Fox sneezing. The likeness was inimi- 
table ; the contortion of the features waspourtrayed 
in the lineaments of nature, and from every sneeze 
were supposed to issue etherial particles, represented 
as so many rays partaking of the following qualities : 
— Euphorbium, Coalition, Capsicum, Receipt Tax, 
India Bill, Violation of Charters, Cromwell's Ambi- 
tion, Catiline's Abilities, Damien's Loyalty, Ma- 
chiavel's Politics. Underneath were these lines : 

Whereas some d — d rogues liave been guilty of treason 

In making me sneeze when I wanted to reason. 

And wliereas it appears upon analyzation 

That the bag's vile contents would have poison'd a nation. 

And whereas, tho' the scheme has for once been defeated. 

The dose may at some future time be repeated, 

I conjure my constituents wherever they'be 

To take care of themselves and be careful of me. 

When Mr. Fox went down to one of the West- 
minster meetings, he was driven by Colonel Hanger, 
and Colonel North was mounted like a footman be- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 85 

hind his carnage. When this came to the ears of the 
queen she dismissed the latter from his office of 
Comptroller of her household, observing at the same 
time, " that she did not covet another man's servant." 
The antipathy of Fox's and the ministeralists 
broke forth on occasion of Mr. Pitt's receiving the 
freedom of the city of London, at Gi'ocer's Hall, 
where a splendid entertainment w^as given in honor 
of him, on the 1st of March 1784. At night, on the 
return of the cavalcade, a mob assembled, drew the 
carriages and broke the windows of many houses 
whose inhabitants refused to illuminate. Even the 
palace of the Prince of Wales was not spared, and 
when they came to Weltjie's in St. James's Street, 
the tumult rose to a great height. Colonel North, 
Mr. Seymour Finch, and» other gentlem.en being in 
the house, appeared on the balcony, where they drank, 
" Fox for ever 1" and declared th^y would not illumi- 
nate. A veley of brickbats demolished the v/indows, 
on which the populace drew off the carriages to 
Brookes's. Here they drew up Mr. Pitt, the Earl of 
Chatham, Lord Sydney, and Lord Mahon under the 
windows, and began the attack ; but the gentlemen 
from the balcony positively refused to comply with 
their demand for lights. The mob vociferated : " Pitt 
and the Constitution !" The other party returned : 
" Fox and a popular government." The multitude 
now began to assail the house with stones, on which 
the chairmen in waiting at the doors, sallied out with 
their poles, and in a few minutes dispersed the mob. 
A flambeau was thrown into the carriage ; on which 
Mr. Pitt and his companions alighted and made good 
their retreat into White's. Th^ carriage, which be- 
H 



8b IHE LIFE 01 

longed to the Earl of Chatham, was broken, but a 
guard arriving order was soon completely restored. 

On the 27th of March, 1784, a bill of indictment 
was preferred against Mr. Fox, for bribery, before 
the grand jury for the county Somerset, at Taunton, 
which was returned by them a true Bill. The cir- 
cumstances of this scandalous case were these — More 
than a year before, Mr. Fox had received a letter from 
a freeman of Bridgewater, stating the balance of an 
account between them, requesting payment, and de- 
sired at the same time to know whether Mr.Fox wish- 
ed him to vote for any particular person as mayor 
of Bridgewater. Mr. Fox*s answer conveyed a draft 
for the money due ; and the concluding paragraph 
pointed out a certain person to whom Mr. Fox wish- 
ed success. This letter having fallen into the hands 
of an enemy of Mr. Fox, it was thought that it might 
be turned to some account, if, by coupling the two 
distinct circumstances together, a man could be pro- 
cured bold enough to give them the colour of bribe- 
ry before a grand jury. 

Meanwhile the majority in the House of Com- 
mons continued in favour of the opposition. A series 
of motions were proposed, tending to prove that the 
minister ought not to continue in office without the 
support of the House of Commons. Though the 
majority was against the minister in the house, it was 
evident that it was for him in the nation. His Majes- 
ty finding that the opinion of the commons continu- 
ed contrary to his own, and conceived it to be oppo- 
site that of his people, determined to enable the lat- 
ter to manifest their approbation or disapprobation of 
their representatives, by dissolving the parliament. 



CHARLES JAMES EOX. 8^ 

At the ensuing general election, a most cxtraordi- 
ry contest took place for Westminster. The candi- 
dates for the representation of this city, besides Mr. 
Fox, were Lord Hood and Sir Cecil Wray, who, 
though formerly his colleague, was now supported 
by a formidable party, disgusted by the late coalition. 
The poll commenced on the first of April, and for 
some days Mr. Fox maintained the superiority ; but 
on the 8th, 9th, and 10th, the tide of popular favour 
began to turn, and on the 12th, the baronet, who was 
second in point of numbers, had a majority of 3 1 8 
over his former friend. Ten thousand electors had 
now polled, and the contest had continued a fortnight. 
It was even supposed, judging from the example of 
former times, that as the votes were exhausted, the 
books must have been closed. 

It is not improbable that Mr. Fox would have 
been defeated in this memorable contest, had it not 
been for the irresistable exertions of his female aux- 
iliaries. Several of the most beautiful and accom-. 
plished women of the age, were zealously engaged in 
Canvassing in his behalf, and with such success as to 
turn the popular tide in his favour. It was observ- 
ed, that if Mr. Fox w^as no longer the man ofthe/ieo- 
pie, it could not be denied, from the number of fe- 
males who attended to give him their support, that he 
was at least the man for the ladies. In their arge for 
Mr. Fox they even adopted a dress in compliment 
to him composed of a mixture of garter-blue and 
buff. 

Not the least serviceable of these lovely support- 
ers, was the late Dutchess of Devonshire, tlien in 



88 THE LIFE OF 

the zenith of her beauty.* It was said of her, and 
her no less amiable sister, Lady Duncannon, now 
Countess of Besborough, while they were soliciting 
votes in favour of Mr. Fox, that they were the most 
lovely /207';rflzV s that ever appeared upon a canvass. 
The following lines were written on the former of 
these Ladies, who, in her zeal to gain her favourite 
point, permitted a butcher to kiss her : 

Condemn not, prudes, fair Devon's plan 

In giving Steel a kiss ; 
In such a cause, for such a man 

She could not do amiss. 

The following epigram was likewise composed on 
the same occasion : 

Array'd in matchless beauty Devon's fair 
In Fox's favour takes a zealous part : 

But oh ! where'er the pilferer comes beware, 
She supplicates a vote and steals a heart. 

It is said that even the highest personages in the 
kingdom did not disdain to take a part in this elec- 
tion. 

When his majesty first heard that the Prince of 
Wales interested himself for the success of Mr. Fox, 
he deputed one of the lords of the bed-chamber to 
wait upon his royal highness, and remonstrate with 

* The impression which the beauty of this accomplished 
female was calculated to make on every one who beheld 
her, cannot be more forcibly illustrated than by the follow- 
ing fact: When the Dutchess made her first appearance at 
Derby races, after her marriage, an honest rustic, on her 
grace beln^ pointed out to him, exclaimed in rapturous as- 
tonishment, *' that were he God Almighty, he would make 
her Queen of Heaven." 



GHTARLES JAMES FOX. 89 

him on the impropriety of his behaviour. His ma- 
jesty, said the lordly messenger, is surprized that 
the heir apparent should take an active part on the 
subject of an election. — " Be so good as to present 
my humble duty to the king,'* replied the prince, and 
say, " it does not appear half so strange that the heir 
to majesty, as that majesty itself should take an active 
part on such an occasion. I never employed Weltjie 
till his majesty had first employed the Earl of Sand- 
wich ; and if there was any difference between us, 
it was only that I had employed the more respectable 
messenger." 

It is related that the Duke of Newcastle applied to 
Sir Henry Clinton, who had been Mr. Fox's oppo- 
nent at the general election in 1780, and desired him 
cO vote for Sir Cecil Wray. The General told his 
noble relation that his opinions were with Mr. Fox, 
but the duke peremptorily insisted on his voting fo#! 
Sir Cecil. The general as peremptorily declared, 
that no man should dictate to him in his choice. — 
^' Then," said the noble duke, " here. Sir, are the ac- 
counts of the expence of your two last elections, which 
1 desire that you will immediately discharge .'*^ 

A very zealous partizan of Mr. Fox's during this 
election was the well-known Sam House. He did not 
long survive it, but carried his passion with liim till 
his death. On the last day of his life he expressed 
to his physician. Sir John Elliott, his earnest desire 
to see Mr. Fox, adding, that he should then die con- 
tented. Sir John communicated the anxiety of his 
patient to Mr. Fox, who instantly waited upon him, 
and sat by his bed-side for some time. From that 
jaiom^ent the poor man declared himself to be perfect- 
H 2 



90 THE LIFE OF 

ly resigned, and died in a few hours without a pang*. 

The unexampled violence of paity spirit which 
prevailed during this election, produced frequent 
disputes between the adherents of the rival candi- 
dates. On the 1 st of May, there were the whole day 
strong indications of a disposition to riot. On the 
hustings much low abuse passed on either side ; and 
on the close of the poll several of Mr. Fox's friends, 
and particularly Colonel Fitzpatrick, were treated 
with very unbecoming indignity. In the evening 
the butchers were in Covent garden with their mar- 
row-bones and cleavers, conducting Mr. Fox's friends 
to their carriages. As they came opposite Wood's 
Hotel, they were stopped, and were told that they 
must not sound their execrable music there. To 
this they replied with a general shout of "Fox for 
ever !" and a battle instantly commenced. For a 
time apprehensions of fatal consequences were enter- 
tained ; for Sir Cecil Wray's party retreating into 
Wood's, they were pursued by the other, who pres- 
sed into the house, and committed many acts of out- 
rage and disturbance. Several of the officers drew 
their swords, and a blunderbuss was fired to intimi- 
date them : this, however, had but little effect ; and 
it was only by the approach of a party of the guards 
that an end was put to the contest, fortunately with- 
out the loss of any lives. — -Towards the close of the 
poll one of the constables was actually killed in the 
dischai^e of his duty, in an affray near the hustings. 

This election was productive of some whimsical 
circumstances. One evening, a young man of gen- 
teel appearance, and a physiognomy expressive of 
good humour, hilarity, and an honest heart, reeled, 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 91 

smiling, into the lower boxes of Covent-garden The- 
atre, " hot with the Tuscan grape and high in blood." 
A gentleman soon afterwards appearing with Mr, 
Fox's favors in his hat, the disciple of Bacchus vo- 
ciferated — " Fox for ever!" A phlegmatic politi- 
cian in the opposite interest immediately took up the 
matter gravely, — " Sir, said he, " do you consider 
the place you are in ?" — " Fox for ever 1" exclaimed 
the buck. — " Sir, the audience must not be disturbed," 
rejoined the other.—" Fox for ever !" was the re- 
ply. — " Sir, you are intoxicated," said the grave man. 
— " Fox for ever !" reiterated the buck. The grave 
man now began to be irritated : " d — n me," said he, 
" but I wish you were at Calais." — " I am half seas 
over, already," replied the other. The grave man 
now rose with an air of the utmost sclf-iraportance : — 
"Sir," said he, "you have offended the ladies and gen- 
tlemen round m'e, and I insist on your asking par- 
don." — " Ladies and gentlemen round me," said the 
buck, with a bright effusion of good humor emana- 
ting from his eyes, " If I have offended you, I ask 
pardon ; but as for this vinegar-faced curmudgeon, 
(looking at the grave man with ineffable contempt) 
remember I make no apology to him — so. Fox for 
ever ! and let me see if he will follow me out." Hav- 
ing said this, he withdrew ; but the grave man little 
expecting such a rebuff, chose rather to stay quiet- 
ly till the conclusion of the piece, than to accompany 
his antagonist out of the house. 

Mr. Fox, in his canvass, having accosted a blunt 
tradesman, whom he solicited for his vote, the man 
answered, " I cannot give you my support ; I ad- 
mire your abilities, but d— n your principles." — Mr. 



92 THE LIFE OF 

Fox replied, " My friend, I applaud you for your sin» 
cerity, but d — n your manners." 

One day towards the conclusion of the poll, a qua- 
ker stepped forward to the hustings, being asked the 
usual question : whom do you poll for ? replied : 
" for the man who calleth himself Lord Hood, andal* 
so for the man who calleth himself Sir Cecil Wray." 
Another friend soon afterwards voted : " For the man 
who is called the Man of the People." 

When the ferment occasioned by this election was 
at its greatest height, a carpenter in Petty France, 
who had been greatly emaciated by a nervous fever, 
was attended by a physician well known for his stren- 
uous exertions on the side of the ministerial party. 
During the doctor's visits, the patient's wife, not 
knowing the att.ichments of that gentleman, often 
expressed her regret that her husband could not get 
up to vote for Mr. Fox. Toward the latter end of 
the poll, when every method was employed on both 
sides to procure suffrages, the doctor calling one 
morning on his patient, to his great astonishment 
found him up, and almost dressed with the assistance 
of the nurse. " Hey-day ! what is the cause of this r" 
exclaimed the doctor. " Why would you get out of 
bed without my leave ?"— " Dear Sir," replied the 
carpenter in broken accents, " I am going to poll." — « 
" To poll !" rejoined the doctor with great warmth^. 
Supposing him of the same opinion as his spouse, 
^* going to the devil, you mean ; do you know that 
the cold air would infallibly destroy you ? Get to bed^ 
man, get to bed as fast as you can, or immediate^ 
death may ensue."- — '' If that is the case. Sir" return- 
ed the patient, " to be sure I must do as you advise 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 93 

me ; but, I thought, * while my wife was out, to take 
the opportunity to go to the hustings and vote for my 
friend Sir Cecil Wray ."— " How ! what ! for Sir Ce- 
cil ?" — "Yes Sir, I have some reasons to wish him 
well.'* — " Have you ?'* cried the medical politician. 
" Hold, nurse, don't pull off his stockings yet. Let 
me feel his pulse.— Very well ! — a good firm stroke. 
— Egad this will do. You took the pills I ordered 
you last night ?" " Yes, Sir, but they made me very 
sick." — ^" Aye, so much the better. How did your 
master sleep, nurse ?" — " Oh charmingly, Sir."— 
*< Did he ? — .Well, if his mind be uneasy about the 
election, he must be indulged. The body when dis- 
eased is prodigiously affected by uneasiness of the 
mind. Come ; 'tis a fine day ; throw a great coat 
about him, and the sooner he goes the better. Here, 
lift him up, a ride will do him good, and so— he 
shall go to the hustings in my chariot." The doc- 
tor was obeyed : the carpenter voted for Sir Cecil, 
and actually gave up the ghost two hours after his 
medical friend had left him at his own house. 

Towards the close of this memorable contest the 
hustings resembled the stand at Newmarket, " An 
even bet that he comes in second," — and " five to 
four on this days poll," being the language continu- 
ally vociferated from every part of the building. By 
dint of extraordinary exertions the poll was conti- 
nued till the 1 7th of May, and after a lapse of forty- 
seven days, it concluded with a majority of 235 in 
favour of Mr. Fox. 

At the final close of the poll the numbers were i 

For Lord Hood 6694 

For Mr. Fox 6233 

For Sir Cecil Wray - - - - - 5998 



94 THE LIFE OS" 

On the day of Mr. Fox's triumph there wa^ a ca- 
binet dinner, during which the persons present 
conversed on the subject of the splendid procession 
which took place when he was chaired, and one of 
the company expressed his wonder where the peo- 
ple had procured such an immense number of foxes* 
tails. " That is by no means to be wondered at,** 
replied Mr. Pitt, " this has been a good sporting year, 
and more foxes have been destroyed than in any for- 
mer season — I think upon an average there has been 
at least one Fox run down in every borough in the 
kingdom." 

Notwithstanding the majority which appeared in 
favour of Mr. Fox, a scrutiny was demanded and 
obtained in favour of the unsuccessful candidate. 
The high-bailiff refusing to return the victorious one, 
he was afterwards prosecuted, and paid damages to 
the amount of two thousand pounds. In the mean 
time that officer, assisted first by Mr. Hargrave, and 
then by Mr. Murphy, as his assessor, commenced his 
laborious research on the 1 6th of June. After a long^ 
tedious struggle, attended with enormous expence>, 
which was defrayed by the great aristocratic familie& 
in the interest of Mr. Fox, that gentleman, who had 
been returned for a district of Scotch boroughs, Dor- 
noc. Tain, Dingwall, Wick, and Kirwall, was declared 
duly elected. 

The inveteracy of the court party against Mr. Fox, 
at this period, may be collected from the following in- 
cident. — At a ball given in the month of June by the 
French ambassador. Lord Mountmorris had in vain 
canvassed the room for a partner. Not one lady of 
fortune was disengaged. He begged Miss Vernon 



CHARLES JAMES POX. 93 

to interfere, and to procure him the honour of a lady's 
hand for the country dance. Miss Vernon said she 
would exert her interest, and in a few minutes she 
introduced him to a very elegant young lady, with 
whom the noble lord danced for a considerable time, 
^vhen, at one of the side-boards, a gentleman came 
up to him, and said : " Pray, my lord, do you know 
the lady with whom you are dancing ?*' — " No," re- 
plied he, " pray who is she ?" — " Coalitions," answer- 
ed the gentleman, " will never end. Why it is Miss 
Fox, the niece of Charles, and sister of Lord Hol- 
land." The noble lord was thunderstruck. If Pitt 
should see him, he was undone. He ran up to Miss 
Vernon, and exclaimed : " In the name of heaven 
how could you introduce me to Miss Fox ?" The 
lady drew him aside, and with a significant hist, 
whispered in his ear, " that it was true slie was Mr- 
Fox's niece, but she could not think she had acted 
improperly in introducing his lordship to her, for 
she had twenty thousand pounds to her fortune." 

At the beginning of September, 1784, Colonel 
Fox, as the representative of Lord Holland, paid in- 
to the Bank for the use of government, 46,0G0l. 
This payment was made by a bill on the, house of 
Drummond. The reason why this balance was paid 
by the Colonel and not by his elder brother Charles 
was, that the latter would not administer from mo- 
tives of delicacy, because he had engaged himself so 
deeply in politics. 

The following fact, which occurred about this 
time, furnishes a striking illustration of the liberality 
of Mr. Fox's mind. — A gentleman, high in the con- 
fidence of administration, was detected in a situation^ 



96 THE LIFE OF 

the exposure of which would have degraded hifh from 
his species, and driven him into obscurity. The mat- 
ter was mentioned to Mr. Fox, and his advice was 
asked whether the charge should not be exhibited 
for the political ruin of the culprit. Mr. Fox objec- 
ted to the idea with scorn and contempt — " I am at 
war, said he, "only with political principles, and the 
public measures to which the gentleman gives coun- 
tenance. I have nothing to do with his pleasures or 
his tastes." 

About this period a number of independent coun- 
try gentlemen, who were in parliament, animated 
with a sincere desire to promote the interest of their 
country, conceived that this could not be done more 
effectually than by bringing about a reconciliation 
between the rival parties, headed by Mr. Pitt and 
Mr. Fox, who was supported by the Duke of Port- 
land. They accordingly met at the St. Alban's 
Tavern, and appointed a committee, composed of 
the Hon. Mr. Grosvenor, the Hon. Charles Mars- 
ham, Sir William Lemon, and Powys, to confer with 
the leaders of the great political bodies by which the 
nation was agitated ; and, if possible, to effect an 
union between them. Their exertions were contin- 
ued for some time ; but as Mr. Fox and the Duke of 
Portland, insisted that Mr. Pitt should divest him- 
self of his office, that, as they alledged, they might 
treat with him on equal terms, and as the minister 
absolutely refused to comply with this requisition, 
their endeavours proved unsuccessful. 

In the early part of the year 1785, Mr. Fox had a 
private interview with his majesty, which gave rise 
to a variety of rumours and conjectures ; nor was 



CHARLES JAMES TOX. V7 

It till some time afterwards that the occasion of it 
became publicly known. The Prince of Wales had 
often expressed a very ardent desire to visit the con- 
tinent. The court were perplexed, and every ex- 
pedient was employed to prevail on him not to think 
of quitting the kingdom, but without effect. Mr. 
Fox, however, had sufficient influence with his royal 
highness to induce him to relinquish his intention, 
by representing to him the impressions it would 
give the public mind of his imbibing notions incom- 
patible with the constitution of the empire he would 
one day be called upon to govern. The king being 
informed of the success of Mr. Fox's efforts, expres- 
sed himself in terms of warm approbation, and direc- 
ted Lord Southamptom to inform that gentleman, 
how much his majesty considered himself obliged 
to him ; on which Mr. Fox attended on the king to 
pay his respects in return. 

During the summer of 1785, Mr. Fox, who had 
acquired great popularity by his opposition to the 
new taxes laid on by Mr. Pitt, and particularly to the 
obnoxious shop-tax, paid a visit to Lord Derby at his 
seat near Prescot, in Lancashire. A petition from 
Manchester against the shop-tax, signed by 120,000 
persons, had ^een presented to the house of Lords 
by the Earl of Derby, who was obliged to request the 
assistance of two other peers to lay it upon the table. 
The gentlemen of that town and vicinity, hearing of 
his'arrival in their neighbourhood, sent Mr. Fox and 
his lordship an invitadon, and they accordingly pro- 
ceeded to Manchester from Knovvsley, accompanied 
by several other persons of distinction. They were 
met above a mile from the town by great numbers of 
I 



98 THE LIFE or 

respectable inhabitants on horseback, and the different 
trades with their bands of music in grand procession. 
The horses were immediately taken from the carri- 
age in which were Lord Derby and Mr. Fox, and it 
was drawn amidst the acclamations of the surround- 
ing multitudes to the town, where an elegant enter- 
tainment was provided. As soon as the circumstance 
was known at Liverpool, the merchants of that place 
copied the example of their neighbours, and invited 
jSIr. Fox and his friends to a public dinner. This in- 
vitation was likewise accepted, and the two days were 
spent in both towns with great glee and satisfaction. 

When the minister had resolved to endeavour to 
negociate a commercial treaty with France, Mr. Eden 
(now Lord Auckland) was selected as the person best 
qualified from his talents and pursuits to conduct the 
business. The appointment was abcepted by Mr. 
Eden, though he had before acted in conjunction with 
the opposition. On his secession from their party, 
he was sharply attacked at the opening of the session 
in January 1786, by Lord Surry (now Duke of Nor- 
folk) and Mr. Fox likewise rose to give him a rebuke. 
No sooner had he begun, than Mr. Eden hung his 
head, and his misery and dejection were so appa- 
rent, tiiat tlie generous -bosom of Fox revolted at the 
continuance of his torture. Turning to his friend, 
he said, in a whisper, *' I cannot go any farther ; 'tis 
like kicking a man when he is down :" on which he 
immediately changed the subject. 

Mr. Fox was now fast recovering that popularity 
which he had lost by his coalition with Lord North, 
by the strenuous opposition he made to the measures 
of the minister, who became disliked in the same pro- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 99 

poriioTi, on account of the new imposts which it was 
found necessary to lay upon the nation. The free- 
dom of Hereford was decreed him ; and on the 1st of 
June, 1786, it was presented to him in a box made of 
apple-tree wood, by Mr. Walwyn, one of the mem- 
bers for that city. 

The summer of 1785 was spent by Mr. Fox at St. 
Ann'-s Hill, though it was currently reported that he 
had undertaken a second journey to Ireland. The 
following singular anecdote relative to his visit to that 
country in 1777, having been accidentally omitted in 
its proper place, shall be introduced here :-— While 
in Dublin, he obtained permission to sit among the 
members of the House of Commons, that he might 
the better hear their debates. In a short time, how- 
ever, the power of habit obliterated the remembrance 
of this circumstance from his mind, and in the mid- 
dle of the debate he was so animated with the sub- 
ject, that he rose to speak ; nor was it till the gentle- 
man next to him reminded him of his situation, that 
lie recollected he was not a member of the Irish 
House of Commons. 

Mr. Pitt, with the assistance of Mr. Dundas, had 
formed a new system for the government of Indian 
which was loudly reprobated by Mr. Fox and his 
adherents. To avenge themselves of the East-India 
interest, and to embroil Mr. Pitt with those by whom 
he had been supported, they now instituted an im- 
peachment of Mr. Hastings, the governor-general of 
the British possessions in the East. In this business 
Mr. Fox acted a principal part, being appointed one 
of the managers for conducting the impeachment. 
This measure, at first, seemed likely to fulfil thei^^ 



100 THE LIFE OF 

hopes, but though a combination oftalents rarely par- 
ralleled, were inclefatigably exerted to convict the ac- 
cused, his innocence was finally crowned with a glo- 
rious triumph. 

Among the amateurs of distinction, ti>e Duke of 
^Richmond gave, in 1787, frequent theatrical repre- 
sentations. On the 20th of April, the dayon-which 
the opening of the budget came on in the House of 
Commons, the Duke sent Mr. Pitt a ticket of admis- 
sion. The minister observed the nota bene at the 
bottom : " None to be admitted after half an hour 
past seven," offered to return it, on account of the 
improbability of his attendance, as he had the budget 
to open on the same day. The duke politely answer- 
ed : " No, Mr. Pitt, keep the ticket ; it is but fair 
that you should have an exclusive privilege." Mr. 
Fox being made acquainted with this circumstance, 
as soon as the house? was up, followed Mr. Pitt's car- 
riage, and they both came to the door leading to the 
great saloon together. It was near nine o'clock ; 
but the door-keeper, acquainted with Mr. Pitt's ex- 
clusive privilege, admitted him. Mr. Fox following, 
was significantly told, it was' more than half past 
seven. — i" Poh ! poh I'* said he, with great vivacity, 
•' I know that well enough ; but to-night I cm a rider 
on Mr. Pittr 

Mr. Fox still continued to retain his predilection 
for the turf. At the Newmarket meeting in April, 
1788, he and the Duke of Bedford were the princi- 
pal winners, they both betted on the same side, and 
shared eight thousand guineas. In the course of 
these races, Mr. Fox and Lord Barrymore had a 
matcli, when the horses came in so equally that the 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 101 

judges not being able to determine the winner, the 
bets were withdra'wn. 

On one of the days of the same meeting, (proba- 
bly in the early part of it) Mr. Fox, being on the 
ground, missed his pocket-book containing notes to 
the amount of several thousands of pounds, on which 
he gave the alarm, and a suspicious character being 
observed riding off at full speed, Mr. Wyndham and 
Sir T. Stepney galloped after him, and brought him 
back. Before they proceeded to search him, Mr. 
Wetherby rode up with the book, which he found 
lying on the table of the coffee-room. Mr. Fox 
gave the man five guineas, and was highly pleased 
at recovering the book, observing jocosely that it 
prevented his levanting^ (running away) which he 
must have done, having laid several bets that had 
proved to be on the wrong side. 

On the decease of the Earl of Poulet, Mr. Fox 
was, in April, 1788, unanimously elected recorder 
of Bridge water. 

After taking a very active part in promoting the 
election of Lord John Townshend, as colleague to 
himself for Westminster, Mr. Fox again went to 
the Continent in the summer of 1788. This journey, 
according to report, was partly undertaken for the 
purpose of seeing a natural son, who was then at Ge- 
neva for the benefit of his education. This child, 
possessing good abilities, had the misfortune to be 
bom dumb, and at the period of which we are speak- 
ing, was about eleven years of age. 

He accordingly proceeded to Switzerland and vi- 
sited Lausanne, where the celebrated author of the 
Decline and Fall of t lie Roman Empircy then resided.. 
I 2 



102 THE LIFE 01-* 

" The man of the people," says Gibbon, *' escaped 
from the tumult, — the bloody tumult of the West- 
minster election, to the lakes and mountains of Swit- 
zerland, and I was informed that he was arrived at 
the Lion d*Or, (at Lausanne.) I sent a compliment : 
he answered it in person, and settled at my house for 
the remainder of the day. I have eat, drank and 
conversed and sat up all night with Fox in England, 
but it never has happened, perhaps it never can hap- 
pen again, chat I should enjoy him as I did that day, 
alone from ten in the morning till ten at night. 
Our conversation never flagged a moment ; and he 
seemed thoroughly pleased with the place and with 
his company. We had little politics, though he 
gave me in a few words, such a chamcter of Pitt, as 
one great man should give of another, his rival; 
much of books, from my own, on which he flattered 
me very pleasantly, to Homer and the Arabian 
Nights; much about the country, my garden, (which 
he understands far better than I do) and upon the 
whole I think he envies me, and would do so were 
he minister. The next morning I gave him a guide 
to walk him about the town and country, and invited 
some company to meet him at dinner. The follow- 
ing day he continued his journey to Bern and Zurich, 
and I have heard of him by various means. The 
people gaze on him as on a prodigy, but he shews 
little inclination to converse with them." 

The historian might here be accused of some mis- 
representation fi'om partiality to his countryman. 
The truth is, that, in this tower in which he was ac- 
companied by Mrs. Armstead, they were totally ne- 
glected by the people of any consideration. The opi- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 103 

iiion that his talents were on the decHne had been gen- 
erally adopted by the English residing in Switzer- 
land, and the native gentry respected, with such in- 
variable propriety, each due decorum of life as to be 
above all intercourse with persons whose characters 
were not free from the slightest slur. 

In another of his letters, written in September, 
1788, Gibbon thus characterizes him: " in his tour 
of Switzerland, Mr. Fox gave me two days of free 
and private conversation. He seemed to feel, and 
even to envy the happiness of my situation ; while I 
admire the powers of a superior man, as they are 
blended in his attractive character with the softness 
and simplicity of a child. Perhaps no human being 
was ever more perfectly exempt from the taint of ma- 
levolence, vanity, or falshood." 

The opinion which the historian entertained of Mr. 
Fox*s oratory is whimsically demonstrated in the 
following anecdote : — When the debates between 
Pitt and Fox were first rising into notice, Gibbon, 
rapping his box with his usual sign of mental pene- 
tration, compared Mr. Pitt's eloquence to a pretty 
painted, little, pleasure-boat. " But, wo betide it.'* 
continued he, " if he run foul of Charles Fox's great 
black collier." 

Leaving the majestic mountains of Switzerland, 
Mr. Fox proceeded to the delicious plains and clas- 
sic soil of Italy. Having visited Bologna, he was on 
the way to Rome, when he was overtaken about the 
middle of November, by a messenger dispatched to 
acquaint him with the alarming indisposition with 
which his Majesty was afflicted. He instantly set 
out on his return, leaving Mrs. Armstead behind 



104 THE LIFE OF 

him at Bologna. He never quitted his chaise during 
the whole journey, travelling night and day, and 
with such expedition that in nine days he performed 
a journey of 1020 miles, the distance between Bo- 
logna and London, where he arrived on the 24th of 
November. 

It is not improbable that this extraordinary haste 
might have been partly occasioned by the intelligence 
of the illness of his nephew, Lord Holland, whose 
indisposition had reduced him to such extremity, 
that his death was actually announced in the public 
prints towards the conclusion of October. — Had this 
event taken place, Mr. Fox, would have succeeded 
to his fortune and honors. 

After his arrival in England, Mr. Fox was for some 
time indisposed with dysentery and an obstruction of 
the bladder, which gave his friends very great alarm, 
though he persisted at this momentous crisis, in at- 
tending his parliamentary duty. Both these com- 
plaints originated in his travelling with such expedi- 
tion ; yet such is the force of habit, that the courier 
who was dispatched for him, rode the whole journey 
on horseback, and attended him on his return in the 
same way as far as Calais. Nor would he have stop- 
ped there, so little did he find his health and spirits di- 
minished, had it not been for the humanity of Mr. 
Fox, who insisted on his remaining two days to take 
rest and refreshment. 

On the 20th of November both houses of parlia- 
ment met, and were officially informed of the king's 
incapacity to attend to the affairs of government. An 
adjournment for a fortnight was proposed and agreed 
to. In this interval Mr, Fox was not inactive. He 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 105 

had several private conferences with the Prince of 
Wales, and his whole party resolved to exert their 
utmost influence in favor of the prince's right to be 
sole regent, with all the powers of the sovereign. 
Had they been successful in establishing this point, 
what a vast field would have been opened to the am- 
bition of Mr. Fox ! The civil list, patent places, re- 
versions, peerages, in short, every power of Great 
Britain v/ould have been at his disposal. 

The two houses of parliament met, according to 
adjournment, on the 4th of December ; and on the 
10th the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed the 
appointment of a committee to search for precedents, 
in order to learn what had been the principle and 
practice of the constitution in similar exigencies, 
Mr. Fox combatted the necessity of appointing this 
committee, which would only be productive of de- 
lay, as the house had before them all the informa- 
tion that could be obtained. With respect to pre- 
cedents, there was not one to the point, not one of a 
suspension of government when there was an heir- 
apparent of full age and capacity. He was fully con- 
vinced himself, from the history of former times, 
from the principles and practice of the constitution, 
from the analogy of the common law of the land, that 
where the sovereign, from sickness or infirmity, 
was unable to exercise the functions of his high office, 
if the heir-apparent were of full age and capacity, he 
had as natural and indisputable a claim to the full ex- 
ercise of the executive power, in the name, and on 
behalf of the sovereign, during the continuance of 
such incapacity, as in case of his natural demise. 
This incapacity, while it lasted was a civil death, the 



106 THE LIFE OF 

houses of parliament were not competent to exercise 
any of their functions, much less to decide on a point 
which the constitution had already placed beyond the 
reach of their cognizance, even if they had assembled 
with the usual and necessary formalities, or their 
powers were competent in other instances. He con- 
ceived all farther delay to be impropef, because the 
heir-apparent, although, from his character he would 
not be forward to signify his claim without some sort 
of notice from the house, was yet so well acquainted 
with that constitution, and with those principles which 
had seated the House of Brunswick on the throne, 
as to know that he had such a claim. 

Mr. Pitt, on the other hand maintained, that iii 
every interruption of the personal exercise of the 
royal power it rested with parliament to determine 
in whom it should be vested. To assert the contrary 
—to say that these branches of the constitution were 
not to be consulted, but that a right of sovereignty 
instantly devolved to any person, was little less than 
treason. He therefore contended, that, until the 
sanction of parliament was obtained, the Prince of 
Wales had no more right to exercise the powers of 
government than any other person in these realms. 

On the 12th Mr. Fox denied his having asserted 
the right of the Prince in the terms which had been 
ascribed to him, affirming the right to be absolute, 
but admitting it nevertheless to be subject to the ad- 
judication of parliament— a distinction not in itself 
very satisfactory, and rendered still more ambigu- 
ous by the doubts which were suggested of the legal- 
ity of the existence of parliament. 

Still Mr, Fox's explanation implied a concession^ 



CHARLES Jx\MES FOX. 107 

in whatever degree it might be construed : but it 
was the concession of an individual which bound no 
one else j and that it might not be taken in too large 
a sense, either of deduction or of authority, Mr. She- 
ridan brought back the claim to its original position, 
by *' warning the house of the danger of provoking a 
claim from the Prince of Wales, which as yet had 
not been asserted." At the same time the whole 
party in both houses violently opposed the examina- 
tion of the right, not merely as being unnecessary, 
but tending to produce dangerous consequences. 

Among other digressive arguments, Mr. Fox 
charged Mr. Pitt with not being in the confidence of 
the prince, with a fore-knowledge that his royal 
highness, when in power, would make a change in 
the administration, and with a consequent determi- 
nation to tie up the hands of hi^ successors, and to 
disable them from conducting the public business. 
Through the whole tenor of this declaration it was 
clearly understood that Mr. Fox meant to hold him- 
self out as destined to fill an important place in the 
impending succession. 

Mr. Burke in plain terms, though thinly veiled 
in hypothetical language, announced the intended ele- 
vation of Earl Fitzwilliam to the dignity of Marquis 
of Rockingham, and a new peerage destined for the 
house of Cavendish. He gave very flattering assur- 
ances to the country gentlemen of the house of com- 
mons, that they might also come in for their share 
in the general distribution ; and was preparing to ex- 
hibit a complete list of projected creations, except 
perhaps such as might be held up for competition 
and conversion, when tl.e acclamations of his oppo- 



108 THE LIFE OF 

ncnts warned him of his indiscretion, and his o\vTi 
party repressed his impetuosity. His next sally was 
of a more serious kind, and when considered as the 
avowal of one of the party uncontradicted by the 
rest, most alarming in its tendency, and most 
wicked in its intention. The king, he said, might 
possibly recover ; he might relapse and the disorder 
might attend him, with lucid intervals through life : 
that it was therefore the duty of parliament to pro- 
vide against the mischiefs incident to such a condi- 
tion of the first magistrate, by fixing a firm and du- 
rable government ; that is, (for such a declaration 
could admit of no other possible construction) by de- 
throning the king, and placing the crown on the head 
of his son. 

Such were the loose hints by which the advocates 
for an unlimited reg^npy, either incautiously betray- 
ed, or intentionally proclaimed their own connection 
with, and interest in its establishment, the principles 
on which they recommended it, and the measures 
which were to have resulted from it. 

The principal debate on this most important sub- 
ject took place on the 1 6th of December, when Mr. 
Pitt moved three resolutions, which went to this 
point — that it was necessary that the two houses of 
parliament should determine on the means by which 
the royal assent might be given in parliament to such 
bill as might he passsed by the two houses respect- 
ing the exercise of the powers and authority of the 
crown, in the name and on behalf of the king, during 
the continuance of his Majesty's indisposition. A 
most animated and interesting debate took place on 
the subject of these resoiutions,and it was not conclud- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 109 

edtill seven in the morning of the 17 th, when on the 
division, the minister was supported by a majority of 
64. The number that voted for him were 268, for 
his opponents 204. 

"As lovers of our country, and lovers of human 
nature,*' says a spirited writer in treating of this sub- 
ject, "we must rejoice to see that a powerful body, 
who had the common spirit of honour in them, forsook 
neither their beloved sovereign, nor the interests of 
the people. Posterity will rejoice to observe that 
some virtue was left among us, when they contem- 
plate the names of those who dared to defend them- 
selves when attacked in their very vitals ; of those 
who voted in the majority on the morning of the 1 7th. 
But had there not been that majority, still would two 
names, by the superior excellence that attaches to 
them, rescue us from the disgrace which would oth- 
erwise have covered us. Throughout the present 
contest they have been eminently illustrious for the 
firmness, the consistency, the honest integrity, the 
calm wisdom of their possessors. Long after the pe- 
riod when we shall be taken from this scene of agita- 
tion and struggle ; when the factions of Britain shall 
be no more ; when her obscurity will perhaps equal 
that of the present Ilium or Athens, will the names of 
Thurlow and of Pitt be known to future patriots ; 
the virtuous leaders of party will be emulous to imi- 
tate them ; and the generous youth, while grounding 
themselves in the principles of public honour, will 
think of them with veneration, and mention them 
with rapture. In this cruel affliction of the king, cut 
off from the family' whom he loved, and the wife 
whom he adored, and with whom he had lived a 
K 



/ 



ilO THE LIFE or 

matchless example of conjugal fidelity and hap- 
piness ; the virtuous heart dweljs "with emotion on 
those generous words that still vibrate in the ear of 
sensibility — " When I forget his favours may God 
forget me !"* 

The same writer has some observations on the 
character and conduct of Mr. Fox, which appear so 
just that we cannot refuse them a place here. — " The 
personal influence," says he, "• of the man whose 
talents might make us bless him, but whose charac- 
ter makes us fear him, is too well known to mention ; 
in every province of England he has a supporter ; 
he revels in all the pride of dominion in Westmin- 
ster. It was such a combination of great families 
and talents, which, in another kingdom, and under 
a despotic government, controlled and insulted the 
last prince of the house of Valois. It was such a 
combination which in the anarchies of the Roman 
republic, overcame the eflbrts of all good men ; and 
after tearing the very bowels of the states, ended in 
tyranny and a perpetual dictatorship. Who that has 
seen this man, who, like the conspirator Shaftsbury, 
has ten thousand brisk boys ready to start at a mo- 
tion of his finger, making a progress through his 
kingdom of Westminster, and supported by the 
Pompeii and the Crassi of Britain ; will not be able 
to liken the present times and factions to that period 
of antiquity, when the Roman liberty and the mild 
power of the senate perished together ? It has been 
the fashion of late among the admirers of this man, 

* Such, it Is well known was the emphatic exclamation of 
Lord Chancellor 1 hurlov/, in one of his speeches on this 
iiviportant business. 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. Ill 

I do not mean his more intimate associates, for they 
are too like him in all points of his conduct not to 
suppose hini perfection ; but those admirers which 
he has among citizens, who are even honest and 
Well disposed, but subject to the frailties and mis- 
takes common to human nature — to admit his pro- 
lligacy and total disregard of all regularity, but to 
dwell upon those shining abilities, and that profun- 
dity of political knowledge which mark him as the 
most accomplished minister of the age. It may be 
so : those who have the fortune to be in the com- 
plete possession of his mind may tell them so ; but 
we, who compose the mass and body of the citizens, 
are so far removed from this intimate acquaintance 
with his superiority, that we can only judge of his 
abilities in this point by the proofs he has given of 
them ; and whether well or ill for the country, he has 
not had much opportunity for displaying these 
proofs. Where, I would ask, was this astonishing 
knowledge, which is to penetrate into the views of all 
the courts of the world, overshadow all other minis- 
ters, and tower above the genius of all the enemies 
of Britain—where was it acquired ? In those temples 
consecrated to the destruction of all that is good and 
generous, where the daemon of chance and gaming 
keeps his " pale-eyed vigils," — or in that admirable 
selection of the accomplished youth of this country, 
who, not dreaming that there are things in the, state 
worthy their attention, waste their spirits and their 
fortunes at Ascottand Newmc.rket ? Was it acquired 
in those habitations of filth and meanness with which 
the metropolis,splendid as it is, abounds, Sc with which 
this companion of the scum of the people, as well as 



112 THE LIFE OF 

of the proudest of the nobles, in his many canva'sses, 
has been perfectly acquainted ? Or was it in the 
arms of a faded beauty, whom reeking with public 
prostitution, this virtuous citizen is not ashamed to 
take to his bosom, and to the honour of Britain and 
the pride of her matrons, to introduce as his compa* 
nion among the nations of Europe ? Human nature 
must sigh when she contemplates these nauseating 
parts of his character, and lament that one who was 
formed to be her ornament and pride, can suffer his 
passions to make him her disgrace." 

Such too were the sentiments pretty generally en- 
tertained at this crisis. Fox found, as on a former 
occasion, that the want of character in the estimation 
of the people was highly injurious to his own inter- 
est, and those of his political associates. The voice 
of the country was against them, though they omitted 
no possible means to change that voice, and with 
such success, that there was scarcely a country paper 
in England which was not filled with misrepresenta- 
tions of the proceedings in parliament. Notwith- 
standing all this, Mr. Fox himself, and the other 
leaders of his party, were looked upon as needy and 
desperate political adventurers, who sought office on- 
ly for the sake of its emoluments: who would shame- 
lessly squander the public money if it were entrusted 
to their hands, and who v/ould venture upon any mea- 
sure, however unconstitutional and flagitious, that 
would but acquire and secure to them the powers of 
the government. 

During the' agitation of the regency business, a 
new arrangement of administration was spoken of 
with the greatest confidence, and Mr. Fox was men« 



CHARLES JAMES FOX, 113 

tioned as one of the intended secretaries of state. 
So secure were some of his friends of succeeding to 
the appointments destined for them, that Earl Spen- 
cer, who, according to the new arrangement, was to 
have been lord-lieutenant of Ireland, actually ordered 
liveries with that view, and insured his plate to the a- 
mount of one thousand pounds for the voyage. On 
the same idea a medal was struck, representing the 
prince on one side, and his crest on the other, with 
the inscription— "His Royal Highness George Au- 
gustus Frederic, Prince Regent, 1789." 

Fortunately for the nation, symptoms of convales- 
cence began to manifest themselves in his majesty 
early in the year 1789. He was soon able to resume 
all the functions of sovereignty, and thus the cup of 
hope, which Mr. Fox and his party had just raised to 
their lips, was suddenly dashed to the ground. 

During the whole of the proceedings relative to 
the regency, the illness with which Mr. Fox was at- 
tacked immediately after his arrival from the conti- 
nent, continued to hang about him in slich a manner, 
that, though he seldom staid away from the house of 
commons, his friends were at times alarmed for his 
safety. His indisposition increased in violence to- 
\rards the end of January, 1789. His v/hole system 
was much relaxed, and his physicians enjoined on him 
a total abstinence from business, as well as the strict- 
est attention to regimen. They likewise prescribed 
a journey to Bath, and if that failed of producing the 
desired effect, they recommended a visit to the Ger- 
man Spa. 

He accordingly went to Bath, and during his resi» 
^ence there he went to the pump-room every day 
K 2 



il4f THE LIFE OE 

precisely at half past one o'clock. Such was the ea- 
gerness of the public to see him, that the room was 
filled a considerable time before, besides a great con- 
course of people who followed him to and from the 
carriage. Mr. Fox derived so much benefit from the 
waters of Bath, that towards the end of February he 
returned to London perfectly recovered. 

For several years Mr. Fox had been a considerable 
gainer on the turf. At the spring meeting at New- 
market, 1789, he is said to have won not less than 
fifty thousand pounds; and at the October meeting 
at the same place, the following year, he sold two of 
his horses, Seagull and Chanticleer, for four thou- 
sand four hundred guineas. 

After the hopes excited by the king's illness were 
frustrated. Fox's parliamentary exertions were vi- 
gorously renewed and prosecuted. The measures 
of the minister were often suggested, always, cor- 
rected, and sometimes disappointed by him. — When 
a contention arose with Spain respecting Nootka 
sound, Mr. Fox's opposition was exercised for the 
purpose of averting the calamities of war. When 
Russia was menaced on account of her ambitious de- 
signs against the Turkish empire, Mr. Fox not only 
opposed the intended hostilities in parliament, but is 
even said to have sent an agent from himself and his 
party to the empress Catharine, to concert with her 
the best means of frustrating the English minister's 
design. So much, hovv^ever, is certain, that the Em- 
press of Russia entertained so high an opinion of Mr, 
Fox's exertions to prevent a rupture between the two 
countries, that she wrote to her ambassador in Lon- 
don to request Mr. Fox to sit to NoUekins for a bust 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 115 

in white marble, which she intended to place between 
statues of Demosthenes and Cicero, as a mark of 
her esteem for a man whose eloquence and wisdom 
had preserved his own country and the British em- 
pire from the calamity of war. it is needless to addj 
that her request was complied with ; and the bust 
was transmitted in the month of August, 1 79 1 . When 
it was shipped at the Custom-house,* the artist repre- 
sented to the officers that the bust might be injured 
by opening the box which contained it ; on which, 
with an honorable liberality, they not only declined 
the inspections, but refused to accept the usual fees. 
On the dissolution of parliament in 1790, and the 
general election by which it was succeeded, Mr. Fox 
and Lord Hood were opposed by John Home Tooke, 
who proposed himself as a candidate for the repre- 
sentation of Westminster. At the final close of the 
poll on the 2d of July, the numbers were — 

For Mr. Fox ....-- 3516 

For Lord Hood 3217 

For J. Home Tooke, Esq. - - - 1679 

A petition against the return was presented by 
Mr. Home Tooke to the House of Commons. Mr. 
Fox's conduct on this business was throughout con- 
sistent with his own dignity When the petition 
was presented, he insisted on the necessity of trying 
its merits, and forbore any censure of those parts 
to which other gentlemen objected. When a com- 
mittee was appointed for this purpose, Mr. Fox's 
agent, by his own particular direction, struck off the 
names of all his particular friends who had been re- 
turned by ballot. The investigation proved fatal to 
the pretensions of Mr. Tooke, whose petition was 



115 THE LIFE OF 

by the committee deemed frivolous and vexatious. 

The first events of the French revolution now 
began to attract the attention of mankind. In Bri- 
tain they were generally hailed as auspicious to the 
state of social life. Englishmen had pitied and des- 
pised the French as slaves, and novi^ rejoiced, with 
liberal philanthrophy, to see them emancipated into 
a freedom like their own. Among those whose 
minds were transported by the first wildly beautiful 
and magnificent, but delusive, prospects presented 
by the French revolution, we are not surprized to 
find Charles Fox. The opinion that it was likely to 
produce more happiness to the natives of France, 
and more tranquillity to adjoining states, especially to 
this country, seems to hctve been one of the principal 
causes that rendered him so fiivourable to the new 
order of things. The anticipation of this happiness, 
and of this tranquillity, appears to have proceeded 
from the circumstance that his attention was rather 
directed to the general effects of liberty, than to the 
contemplation of the particular character of its new 
voteries, and to the principles and views of its most 
active supporters. Had his comprehensive mind re- 
curred to the events of history, he would have imme- 
diately perceived that free nations have been as pro- 
pense to hostility as the subjects of an arbitrary prince, 
and with much more effect, because with much great- 
er energy ; but the reasonings of the orator were 
deduced rather from abstract principles than from 
experience. 

Such vrere the sentiments expressed by Mr. Fox 
at the discussion of the army estimates for the year 
1790. His friend Mr. Burke soon afterwards deliv- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 117 

ered his opinion on the subject. Entertaining the 
highest respect for the genius and wisdom of Mr.Fox, 
he expressed his anxiety, lest the approbation be- 
stowed on the French by a man whose authority car- 
ried so much weight, should be understood to hold 
up the transactions in that country as a fit object 
for imitation in our own. He declared his thorough 
conviction that nothing could be farther from the in 
tentions of such an able and uniformly patriotic cham- 
pion of the British constitution, and entered on the 
merits of his arguments and of the question from 
which they had arisen. Fully coinciding with Fox 
respecting the evils of the old despotism, he, how- 
ever, thought very differently of the tranquillity to 
neighbours and happiness to themselves likely to en- 
sue from the recent proceedings in France. Burke 
concluded his first public discussion of the French 
revolution with a very high eulogium on the genius 
and disposition of his friend, Mr. Fox. It was in re- 
ply to this speech that Fox, after expressing his es- 
teem and veneration for Burke, declared, thai " were 
he to put all the political information that he had 
gained from books, all that he had learned from sci- 
ence, or that the knowledge of the world and its af- 
fairs had taught him, into one scale ; and the im- 
provement he had derived from Mr. Burke's conx't^r- 
sation and instruction, into the other; the latter 
would preponderate." Still, however, he could not 
agree with the opinion of his friend respecting the 
French revolution, at which he rejoiced, as an e- 
mancipation from despotism. He declared himself 
as much an enemy to democratical despotism as to 
that of aristocracy or monarchy, but he entertained 



118 T%E LIFE OF 

no apprehension that the new constitution of France 
would degenerate into tyranny of any description 
whatever. 

After this discussion between Fox and Burke, in 
the session of 1 790, the latter adhered uniformly to 
the sentiments he had avowed. He opposed the re- 
peal of the test-act, and a motion for a reform in 
parliament. Mr. Fox and he still continued on 
terms of friendship, though they did not meet so 
often as before. 

In 1791, a bill was proposed for the formation of 
a constitution in Canada. In the discussion of this 
subject Burke entered into the general principles of 
legislation, considered the doctrine of the Rights of 
Man, proceeded to its offspring, the constitution of 
France, and expressed his conviction, that in this 
country a design had been formed against the es- 
tablished government. 

Burke had been more than once called to order 
by the members of the opposition, when Mr. Fo? 
rose. Conceiving that an insinuation of maintaining 
republican principles had been made against him, 
and that part of Burke's speech tended to strength- 
en the idea, in order to remove the impression, he 
declared his conviction that the British constitution, 
though defective in theory, was, in practice, admira- 
bly adapted to this country. He, however, repeated 
his praises of the French revolution ; he thought it, 
on the whole, one of the most glorious events in the 
history of mankind, and expressed his dissent from 
Burke's opinions on the subject, which he said were 
inconsistent with his former principles. He also 
contended that the disclission of the French revolu- 
tion was irrelative to the Quebec BilL 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 119 

Burke in reply, said " Mr. Fox has treated me with 
harshness and malignity ; after harrassing with his 
light troops in the skirmishes of order, he has brought 
the heavy artillery of his own great abilities to 
bear on me." Having defended his opinions rela- 
tive to the French constitution and vindicated him- 
self from the charge of inconsistency, he avowed 
that Mr. Fox and he had often differed, and that there 
had been no loss of friendship between them ; " but," 
continued he, " there is something in the cursed 
French constitution which envenoms every thing."-— 
Fox whispered : " There is no loss of friendship be- 
tween us." Burke answered : " There is.— I know 
the price of my conduct : our friendship is at an end." 
He,' then concluded with exhorting the two great 
men at the head of the opposite parties,. " whether 
they should move in the political hemisphere, as two 
blaaing stars in opposite orbits, or walk together as 
brethren, to preserve the British constitution, and to 
guard it against innovation." 

On hearing this declaration of his former friend 
and political instructor, the feelings of Mr. Fox 
were too powerful to be suppressed. He rose to re- 
ply, but they denied him utterance. Relieved by 
involuntary tears, while the most profound silence 
prevaded the house, he said, " that however events 
might have altered the mind of his honorable friend, 
for such he must still call him, he could not so easily 
consent to relinquish and dissolve that intimate 
connexion which had for twenty-five years sub- 
sisted between them. He hoped that Mr. Burke 
would think on past times, and whatever conduct of 



120 THE LIFE OF 

his had caused the offence, that he would, at least 
believe such was not his intention.'* — In the course 
of his speech he still maintuiiied that Burke had 
once held very different principles, and that he 
himself had learnea from him those very prin- 
ciples which he now reprobated.' He endea- 
voured to support his allegation by references to 
measures which Burke had either proposed or pro* 
moted, and also cited ludicrous expressions and ob- 
servations of his to the same purpose. Mr. Fox 
concluded with making a beautiful application of a 
passage he recollected: " We may bear to be ill used 
and abused by those on whom we have conferred fa- 
vours, and who owe every thing to our kindness. It 
is a calamity which the mind may endure. The in- 
justice and ingratitude of the world are old topics of 
reflection. But to be ill-used and abused by one 
who has previously won and engaged the soUl by 
kindness, is an affliction for which a grateful heart 
has no balm." 

The repetition of the charge of inconsistency 
which Mr. Fox made in the middle of this speech, 
completely effaced in Burke*s mind that impression 
which the tenderness displayed at the beginning and 
the conclusion were calculated to produce. 

This separation Mr. Fox painfully felt to the latest 
period of his life. Both before and after the public 
declaration of Mr. Burke's resolution, he spared no 
efforts to effect a reconciliation, but Mr. Burke's in- 
variable reply was : " Will he pronounce the renun- 
ciation ?" He alluded to a singular paper drawn up 
by himself, containing a solemn renunciation of the 
princijDles of the i-'rench revolution, and a promise 



CHARLES JAMES iOX. 121 

that he would never again propose a reform in parlia- 
ment or the abolition of the test. Mr. Burke insist- 
ed that Mr. Fox should make the contents of this pa-* 
paper a part of his speech in a full house, a call off 
which-he proposed to procure, that, as he' said, no- ^ 
thing might be wanting to the impossibility of future 
apostacy. 

To this humiliation Mr. Fox could not subfnit ; . 
and though their mutual friends exerted their good 
offices — though the late Duchess of Devonshire — 
though Mr. Windham,* the favourite, and almost 
the adopted son of Mr. Burke, united all their efforts, 
the latter still remained inflexible. To one of these 
applications he replied : " My separation from Mr. 
Fox is a principle, and not a passion ; I hold it as a 
sacred duty to confirm what I have said and written 
by this sacrifice ; and to what purpose would be the 
re-union of a moment ? I can have no delight with 
him, nor he with me." 

The severe remarks on Mr. Fox's friends, in which 
Burke frequently indulged, were constantly reported 
to Fox ; but such was the attachment of the latter., that 
nothing could eradicate it. This was so well known 

* The opinion which Mr. Fox etertained of Mr, Wind- 
ham, he once expressed in the following words : '* He is 
indeed a singular character, and almost the only man whoni 
I ever knew, who was athinldng man Without being a grave 
man ; a meditating man, with so much activity ; and a read- 
ing man, with so much practical knowledge. He is so ab- 
' sent that Sheridan once betted that he would introduce 
the Duchess of Devonshire to him, and say : I met Mrs. 
Windham by the way. Sir, and took a seat in her carnage 
home — and Mr. Windhain would not know the dift'erence. 
Sheridan's bet was not taken, or I am persuaded he would 
have won it. I once saw liim stir the fii'e, and take the 
poker out of the room, at St. James's. 

L 



122 THE LIFE OF 

to his friends, that at St, Ann's Hill, Burke was never 
mentioned but with respect. A gentleman having 
once observed that Burke was a sophist, and would 
be thought nothing of but for his dazzling eloquence ; 
Mr. Fox immediately replied, tliat he entertained a 
very different opinion of that gentleman :^" The 
eloquence of Mr. Burke," says he, "rather injures 
his reputation ; it is a veil over his wisdom ; remove 
his eloquence, reduce his language, withdraw his 
images, and you will find that he is more wise than 
eloquent ; you will have your full weight of the me- 
tal, though you should melt down the chacing." 

Lord Lauderdale once said in the presence of Mr. 
Fox, that Burke was a splendid madman.-^" It is dif- 
ficult," replied Mr. Fox, " to say whether he is mad 
or inspired ; whether one or the other, every one 
must agree that he is a prophet.'* 

The first intelligence of the last illness of Burke, 
convey.ed in a letter from Lord Fitzwilliam, deeply 
affected Mr. Fox. When he was afterwards inform- 
ed that it could not fiiil to terminate fatally, he was 
agitated as with the expectation of some great cala- 
mity. In this state of mind he wrote to Mrs. Burke, 
expressing his^ intention of passing through Beacons- 
field; and the following day received by an express 
this answer : 

" Mrs. Burke's compliments to Mr. Fox, antf thanks him 
for bis oblig-ing inquiries, Mrs. Burke communicated his 
letter to Mr. Burke, and by his desire, has to inform Mr. 
Fox that it has cost Mr. Burke the most heartfelt pain to 
obey the stern voice of his .duty, in rending- asunder a long 
friendship, but that he had effected this necessary sacrifice ; 
that his principles rem aiiied the same ; and that, in what- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 12," 

ever of life yet remained to him, he conceives that lie must 
continue to live for others, and not for himself. Mr. Burke 
is convinced, that the principles which he has endeavoured 
to maintain, are necessary to tlie good and dignity of his 
country, and that these principles can be enfoixed only by 
the general pursuasioh of his sincerity. For herself, Mrs 
Burke has ag-ain to express her gratitude to Mr. Fox for his 
inquiries." 

Thus terminated for ever the connection between 
Mr. Burke and Mr. Fox, who wept bitterly when he 
received the intelligence of the death of that vene- 
rable man. 

To the honor of Mr. Fox, he has been a strenuous 
advocate for the abolition of the Slave Trade ever 
since the first agitation of the question in April 179 1, 
In the discussion of this subject on the 18th of that 
month, party considerations gave Vv'ay to those of 
justice and humanity, and united in one cause the 
two great leaders in parliament, hostile as they were 
on almost every other occasion. In an animated 
speech, in which he described the sufferings of the 
injured Africans, Mr. Fox likewise took occasion to 
pronounce an elegant eulogium on the Christian re- 
ligion, which had the greater weight as coming from 
a man whose conduct had justly led many to doubt 
the existence of any fixed religious principles in his 
mind. He called on gentlemen to make the case of 
the negroes their own. " Let them suppose,** said 
he, " what might happen, that in some improbable 
turn in human affairs, England should be over-run 
with a tribe as savage as Englishmen were on the 
coast of Africa ; and that they carried into slavery a 
number of the people of England. From what class 



124 THE LIFE OF 

of Englishmen, however low and uneducated, could 
they find men so generally dull and sefiseless as to 
have no feeling to the wretchedness of personal sla- 
very ? What arrogance and blasphemy was it then 
to suppose that Providence had not endowed men 
with equal feelings in other countries ! Let them 
look to the words of our Saviour; let them deeply 
weigh one of the most splendid doctrines of the 
Christian dispensation — a doctrine, which served 
perhaps more than any other to illustrate the unpa- 
ralleled beauty and grandeur of that most amiable of 
all religions — a cloctrine before which slavery was 
forced to fly ; and to which doctrine he attributed . 
the memorable and glorious fact, that soon after the 
establishment of Christianity in, Europe, human sla- 
very was abolished. This doctrine was — high and 
|ow, rich and poor, are equal in the sight of God ', 
Here was a doctrine which required only to be duly 
impressed on the heart of man to extinguish the term 
of slave ; and, accordingly, what all the ancient sys- 
tems had failed to do, Christianity accomplished ; 
and yet, in the ancient systems of philosophy, we 
iind a liberality and views of human rights as perfect 
as in any of the theories of the present day. It 
would be idle to pay so false a complimeDt to any. of 
the great names that adorned the present time, as to 
bay that there were men now alive more capable of 
delivering the truths of an enlightened philosophy 
and a commanding eloquence, than Demosthenes 
and Cicero — that there were historians and writers 
more capable of asserting the rights of men than 
Tacitus or Thucydides , and yet these were content- 
ed to live in states where men were slaves. It v/as in 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 125 

his opinion to the' pure light which this great doc- 
trine of our Saviour diffused over the heart of mail 
that the abolition of slavery was to be ascribed." Mr. 
Fox concluded his speech with pledging himself to 
continue in all situations to exert himself for the ac- 
complishment of t^e object, a promise, which, as we 
shall see hereafter, he did not neglect to fulfil. 

Such was the enthusiasm in favor of the French 
revolution, in its early stages, that an anniversary 
dinner was gi\ien in celebration of it on the 14th of 
July. To this dinner the members of the Whig 
Club, to which Mr. Fox had many years belonged, 
were invited in 1791, but many of them, and Mr. 
Fox among the rest, prudently declined the invita- 
tion. The mischiefs resulting from a similar pro- 
ceeding to Dr. Priestly and his friends at Birming- 
ham on the same day, are too well known to be re- 
peated. 

On the 2d of May, 1792, Mr. Fox obtained a ver- 
dict in the Court of King's Bench for 1951. the amount 
of damages sustained by him in defending himself 
against the petition of John Home Tooke, complain- 
ningof an undue election for Westminster, which a 
committee of the House of Commons pronounced 
frivolous and vexatious. 

During the year 1792, the operation of French 
principles in Britain became very extensive and very 
dangerous. The minds of the people were enflam- 
ed by the writings of Paine, and other political in- 
cendiaries, which were circulated with the utmost 
industry. About the same time an association was 
formed by the principle members of opposition, com. 
prising great talents, property, and respectability, 
L2 



126 TH£ LIFE OF 

under the name of the " Friends of the People,** to 
procure a reform in parliament* Although the cha- 
rajctep of the individuals that composed this associa- 
tion, and the stake which maAy of them had in the 
country ,precluded every idea that their object was any 
thing more than a moderate reform, yet they afforded 
a pretext for the formation of societies of a different 
description in every quarter of the country. From, 
these societies deputations were sent to congratulate 
the French on the murder of their king, and their 
victories over the allied armies : and they in return 
published their offers of support to all people desi- 
rous of vindicating their liberty, or in other words, 
inclined to overthrow the legitimate government of 
their country. 
\/ The British constitution was openly threatened 
with destruction ; and had it not been for the uncom- 
mon activity, vigilance and promptitude of the ad- 
ministration and their friends, the consequences 
might perhaps have proved highly calamitous. — 
Alarmed at the dangers which seemed to threaten 
the country both from within and without, and rou- 
zed by the eloquence of Edmund Burke, the leaders 
of the Whig aristocracy began to think it high time 
to unite cordially with the ministerial and parliamen- 
tary supporters of the crown, in order to avert the 
impending ruin. 

Mr. Fox and his party ridiculed the idea of inter- 
nal danger, and considering the invasion of France as 
a combination of despots against freedom, expressed 
their joy at the compulsory retreat of the Ei^ussian 
and Austrian armies. Fox censured ministry for re- 
moving from their Commands military ofiicers who 



CHARXES jAMtS POX. 12T 

had sought and received fraternity from the enemies 
of regal government abroad, and were connected with 
societies inimical to the British constitution at home. 
He seemed indeed to have retained his admiration of 
the French spirit, even when it was producing ef- 
fects the very reverse of those which, had he paid 
sufficient attention to them, his patriotism, benevo- 
lence and wisdom would have approved. With a 
mind possessing an energy and comprehension which 
few have equalled, he did not always direct his ob- 
servation to the whole circuit of affairs. The love of 
liberty, a sentiment so congenial to the feelings of a 
noble and generous mind, so entirely occupied Mr. 
Fox, that he cherished its excesses, and. even its 
counterfeit, while his ardor rendered him blind to 
the mischiefs that were likely to result both to its vo- 
taries and the rest of mankind. 

On this principle Mr. Fox made every possible ef- 
fort to prevent Britain from being involved in a war 
with republican France. His motives for such con- 
duct, as may naturally be supposed, were traduced 
by the opposite party. — Among the base insinuations 
thrown out about the conclusion of 1792, by the mi- 
nisterial prints against him, one of those papers 
positively asserted, that Brissot's Journal of a cer- 
tain date, published jat Paris, stated, that Mr. Fox 
and Mr. Grey were, on such and such particular 
days, immediately after the opening of the parlia- 
ment, to make such and such specific motions, which 
were accordingly made. A wilful and malicious 
falsehood, which was soon exposed to the detesta- 
tion it so justly deserved. 

At this juncture occurred an event which tended 



128 THE LIFE or 

greatly to diminish the strength of Mr. Fox's party 
At a meeting- of the Whig Club on the 20th of Feb- 
ruary, 1793, the members agreed to the following 
resolution — " That this club think it their duty at 
this extraordinary juncture, to assure the Right Hon. 
Charles James Fox, that all the arts of misrepresen- 
tation which have been so industriously circulated of 
late for the purpose of calumniating him, have had 
no other effect upon them than that of confirming, 
strengthening and increasing their attachment to 
him." — This resolution was productive of a chism 
in the club. Forty -five noblemen and gentlemen, 
among whom were Edmund Burke and his son, con- 
ceiving that something more than a personal mark 
of respect was implied, and that it conveyed an ap- 
probation of the principles supported by Mr. Fox, 
which they conceived detrimental to the interest of 
their country, withdrew their names from the list of 
its members. In consequence of their cesession 
and of that of the Duke ofPortlanxl, Earl Fitzwiliiam, 
Earl Spencer, and other leading men of the old 
Whig interest, the party of Mr. Fox received a 
blow, from which it was never afterwards able to 
recover. 

Before they decidedly separated from Mr. Fox, 
his old associates, in conjunction with these who still 
firmly adhere to his principles, performed for him 
an act of noble generosity and substantial justice. 
^ After recovering a fortune at the gaming-table and 
on the turf, he was once more stripped of all his win- 
nings, and left witlicut it shilling. His political friends 
saw his distre^ss, and resolved effectually^ to relieve 
him. Accordingly on the 5th of June, 1790, a meet- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 129 

ing of noblemen and gentlemen took place at the 
Crown and Anchor, for the purpose of giving Mr. 
Fox some effective testimony of gratitude for his 
long and unwearied political exertions. The objoct 
of the meeting was explained by Mr. Francis, who 
obfierved, at the conclusion of his speech, that every 
possible precaution had been taken to keep the steps 
hitherto pursued with regard to the business from 
the knowledge of Mr. Fox. The chairman, Mr. 
Serjeant Adair, then addressed the assembly, and 
said, " Whatever difference of opinion may prevail 
as to the particular measures which Mr. Fox may 
have supported or opposed, in the long course of his 
parliamentary exertions, there is one point to which 
all mankifKl must agree, and which even his most 
inveterate enemies will not dare to call in question, 
— that if the wonderful talents of his mind, instead 
of being exerted in the service of his country, had 
been directed to objects of private interest and per- 
sonal ambition, they would long ere this have placed 
their possessor in a situation of opulence and power 
equal to his fame and celebrity. That this has not 
been the fact is equally notorious., and it must there- 
fore be the natural wish of every man of liberal feel- 
ings, that he who has conducted himself in so dis- 
tinguished a manner should be placed in a situation 
as independent as his mind." 

Several resolutions founded on the above state- 
ment were' put and unanimously agreed to. They 
tended to this point — that an effective demonstration 
and honourable proof of the affection, esteem, and 
gratitude of his*constituents, and of the public, ought 
to be offered to Mr. Fox, as an acknowledgment and 



130 THE LIFE OF 

retribution due to his services and merits. A com-j- 
mittee was appointed to forward the execution of 
the plan, consisting e>f the following noblemen and 
gentlemen : — Lord John Russel, Lord G. H. Caven- 
dish, Messrs, Francis, Crewe, Vyner, Wrightson, 
Skinner, Coombe, and Adair. Mr. Cooke, Mr. Pel- 
ham, and Mr. Byng, were requested to act as trus- 
tees, in the discharge of any personal trust which 
might be found necessary for carrying the resolu- 
tions into complete execution. The meeting than 
adjourned till the 1 1th. 

On that day Mr. Serjeant Adair reported from the 
committee that he had communicated their resolu- 
tions to Mr. Fox, and that Mr. Fox had returned the 
following answer : 

St. Ann's Hill, June QtK 1792. 

** DEAR SIR, 

«* You will easily believe that it is not a mere form of 
words, when I say, that I am wholly at a loss how to express 
my feelings upon the event which you have in so kind a 
manner communicated to me. 

*« In difficult cases it is not unusual to inquire what others 
have done or said in like circumstances, but in my situation, 
this recourse is denied me ; for where am I to look for ah 
instance of such a proof of public esteem as that which is 
offered to me ? To receive at once from the public, such a 
testimony to the disinterestedness of my conduct, and such 
a I'eward as the most interested would think their lives well 
spent in obtaining, is a rare instance of felicity which seems 
to have been reserved for me- 

** It would be gross affectation, if, in my circumstances, I 
were to pretend that what is intended me is not in itself of 
the highest value. But it is wjth perfect sincerity that I 
declai'e, that no other manner in which a fortune could have 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 131 

come to me, would have been so hig-hly gratifying' to the 
feelings of my heart. I accept, therefore, with the most 
sincere gratitude, the kindness of the public, and consider it 
as an additional obligation upon me, if any were wanting 
to continue steady to the principles which I have uniformly 
professed, and to persevere in the honest and independent 
line of conduct, to which alone I am conscious tliat I am in- 
debted for this, as well as for every other mark of public 
approbation. 

** I hope I need not add, my dear Sir, that 1 could not 
have received this honourable message through a more ac- 
ceptable channel. 

** I am with great truth. 
My dear Sir, 
** Your mo3t obliged humble Servant, 

« C. J. FOX." 
'* Mr. Serj: Adatr.^* 

The committee assuring tlie meeting that the zeal 
and spirit with which their plan had been adopted 
in the capital, gave them the greatest reason to hope 
that they should not only be able to secure a perma- 
nent income to Mr. Fox, but shortly to present hinx 
an honourable testimony of the public esteem. Nor 
were these hopes disappointed; by means of a gene- 
ral subscription, they raised a sum sufficient to pur- 
chase for him an annuity for life, of not less than 
three thousand pounds ; and this annuity was settled 
in such a manner as to render it impossible for him 
to squander it in those amusements to which he was 
known to be strongly addicteil. 

War with France was at length resolved upon by 
a great majority of the British parliament. Fosc,. 
still true to his former principles, proposed that in- 
stead of declaring war, an ambassador should be 



132 THE LIFE or 

sent to treat with the French. It was argued that 
if Fox could propose a negociation with men pollu- 
ted by every crime that can disgrace human nature, 
he must likewise be willing 'to share their guilt. 
A gen,eral outcry was excited against him by the en- 
emies of revolution, and he himself began to fear 
that he might have lost the favor of the people, 
which he had prefered to every other possession. 
To repel the accusation with which he was assailed, 
he thought it necessary to exhibit himself in the 
character of an author. In a letter addressed in 1793, 
^to the Electors of Westminster, he endeavored to 
vindicate the wisdom, the integrity and the constitu- 
tional propriety of those proposals for negociation on 
account of which he was most abusively calumniated. 

This composition is not more remarkable for be- 
ing the only production of Mr. Fox's pen that he gave 
to the world, than for the penetration into the future 
which it bespeaks. In one place he says : " Let us 
not attempt to deceive ourselves : whatever possibil- 
ity, or even probability, there may be of a counter- 
revolution from internal agitation and discord, the 
means of producing such an event by external 
force can be no other than the conquest of France. 
The conquest of France ! ! ! — O calumniated crusa- 
ders, how rational and moderate were your objects ! 
— O miich injured Louis XIV. upon what slight 
grounds have yon been accused^^of restless and im- 
moderate ambition ! — O tame and feeble Cervantes, 
with what a timid pencil and faint colours have you 
painted the portrait of a disordered imagination !" 

With the same prophetic spirit he, early in 1794, 
deprecated the idea, that while the Jacobin system 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 133 

existed, no peace could take place with France. He 
asked, " whether it was not more advisable provi- 
ded honorable terms could be obtained with the pres- 
ent government of France, to trust to our caution 
and vigilance for the preservation of the coun- 
try, than to continue hostilities, attended with an e- 
normous waste of blood and treasure, but no more 
productive of security than a pacification ? Allowing 
the danger to be equal in either case, that which 
freed us from an immense charge, was unquestion- 
ably preferable to the other. It was vain to calcu- 
late the resources of the French at the rate of a 
commercial proportion. They had no commerce — 
they derived no expectations from any other funds 
than the productions of their soil*— The depreciation 
of their paper-money had not depressed their affairs ; 
and wherever men were willing and resolved to bear 
hardships, historical experience had piovedthat their 
resourses were inexhaustible. In war it somv- 
times happens that rage and courage supply the 
want of ordinary arms. Xenophon, in his Cyropse- 
dia, has observed that iron commands gold. " The 
French," continued Mr. Fox, ''when their assig- 
nats fail, as it is predicted they will do, may plun- 
der their neighbors. It must be allowed, indeed, that 
plunder is but a fleeting resource ; yet, when a nation 
has abandoned habits of peace and industry, and ac- 
quired the views and manners of predatory warriors, 
it is a resource that enables it to spread desolation far 
and near." 

It has been lamented by many sincere friends to 
the country, that Mr. Fox did not enter into adminis* 
tration w ith Earl Fitzwilliam and the Duke of Port- 
M 



134- THE LIFE OF 

land, towards the close of 1794. The error of mi- 
nisters was, not that? they entered into the war, but 
that they knew not the most favorable moments for 
concluding an advantageous peace. Had Fox been 
placed in a suitable situation, it is not improble that 
he would have procured peace on various occa- 
sions which, were unfortunately lost. In that case, 
France might not perhaps have attained the gigantic 
power she now possesses, and much bloodshed and 
misery might have been spared to all Europe. 

Before the meeting of parliament, in November, 
J 79 5, frequent meetings of disaffected persons, call- 
ing themselves the London Corresponding Society, 
took place in the fields in the vicinity of the metro- 
polis, and inflammatory discourses were delivered by 
factious demagogues, tending to excite a spirit of 
resistance to the measures of government. Nor was 
thk all. On the 29th of October, when his Majesty 
was proceeding in his usual state to .the hoijse of 
peers, he was not only insulted, and assaulted with 
fitones, but on his return his state coach was demo- 
lished by the infuriated mob. These outrages cal- 
led for strong measures on the part of the govern- 
ment, and bills were brought into the House of Com- 
mons, for the more effectually preventing of sediti- 
ous meetings and assemblies. In the different de- 
bates on these bills, very energetic expressions were 
used, which themselves became the occasion of very 
animated discussion. Among their most strenuous 
opposers, was Mr. Fox. " Should these bills pass," 
said he, " by the mere influence of the minister, 
contrary to the sentiments of the great majority of 
the nation, and he was asked without doors what was 



I 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 135 

to be done, he would say : ' This was not now a 
question of morality or of duty, but of prudence. 
Acquiesce in the bills only as long as you are com- 
pelled to do so. They are bills to destroy the consti- 
tution, and parts of the system of an administration 
aiming at that end.' " Being interrupted by loud 
cries of Hear I hear I Mr. Fox said, " he knew the 
misconstructions to which such sentiments were lia- 
ble, and he braved it. * No attempt of the Stuarts 
called for more opposition than the present bills, and 
extraordinary times demanded extraordinary decla- 
rations.'* 

On this Mr. Pitt, with great warmth, observed, 
" that the right honourable gentleman's declaration 
could not be misunderstood. He thanked him for 
making it,that the public might see him setting up his 
own judgment against a majority of the house,attemp- 
ting the dissolution of society ,and persuading the peo- 
ple of England to have recourse to the sword if they 
thought they could succeed by it. Let him not ima- 
gine, however," continued Mr.Pitt, "that Englishmen 
win want spirit to support the laws. The right ho- 
nourable gentleman will probably find the law too 
strong for him j but if that should not be so, I hope he 
will find the valor that should aid the law." — Mr. 
Fox replied, that he would not retract a syllable of 
his assertions, which, he said, the right honourable 
gentleman had much misrepresented. He had sta- 
ted, that if bills tending to destroy the constitution 
were passed against the sense of the majority of the 
nation, he would give the advice which he had men- 
tioned. He would stand and abide by his words, 
which he was willing to have taken down, if requir- 



135 THE LIFE OF 

ed. The words might be strong, but strong mea- 
sures called for strong words. — Mr. Windham ob- 
served, that from the declaration of Mr. Fox, people 
v/ould now see the necessity for a vigor stronger^^ 
than the laws — Mr. Sheridan made an able reply to 
Mr. Windham, and said, " that wh«sn plot-forging 
ministers meditated attacks upon the constitution ; 
when the Secretary of War had made London, the 
seat of parliament, a garrison, and talked of a vigor 
stronger than the lav/, he would advise every man to 
resist the establishment of the system of terror in 
this country.'* 

During the discussion of these bills, the attention 
of the House of Commons was called to a work pub- 
lished by Mr. John Reves, entitled, " Thoughts on 
the English government,'* which was pronounced a 
daring libel on the constitution. It must be observ- 
ed that at the time when this subject was brought 
before parliament, Mr. Reves had promoted in the 
city of Westminster and various parts of the county 
of Middlesex, a very strong petition in opposition to 
one procured by Mr. Fox against the Treason and 
Sedition Bills, and nothing could prevent, in a great- 
er extent, the effect of the measure, than to bring 
the promoter of it into disrepute. This explains 
the motives of the chiefs of opposition, and their 
success demonstrates the skilfulness of the ma- 
noeuvre. 

On the passing of those bills a committee of the 
Whig Club was formed for the purpose of obtain- 
ing their repeal ; and of this committee Mr.'^Fox was 
an active member. 

At the dibsolution of Parliament, in 1796, Mr. 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 137 

Fox again offered himself as a representative for 
Westminster. The other candidates were Admiral- 
Sir Alan (now Lord) Gardner, and Mr. Home 
Tooke. On the second day of the poll, the latter 
seemed greatly out of humour at his being the low- 
est, and observed, " that if Mr. Fox and Sir Alan 
were returned by the electors of Westminster, they 
would be literally not represented' at all ; they would 
be like a man setting out in a carriage with one 
horse harnassed before and the other behind, both 
pulling different w^ays, which was a pretty method 
of arriving at the journey's end." 

It was understood that while Mr. Fox and Mr. 
Tooke secretly threw in their second voices to eacTi 
other they studiously avoided all appearance of coa- 
lition. The latter was assisted hi the poll by Mr. 
Thelwall, and it was observed with pleasure, that 
Mr. Fox, though cautious of offending, carefully 
avoided all the impertinent intrusions by which he 
endeavoured to draw him into conversation. Ail 
idea of a coalition was, however, repeatedly disclaim- 
ed by Mr. Fox, which greatly irritated Mr. Tooke, 
who declared " that the only distinction between 
them was, that Mr. Fox was Right Honourable ; but 
as he himself was neither Right Honourable nor Ho- 
nourable, he must consider himself as a private in 
the ranks ; and though he was afraid he could never 
command, yet he could fight as bitterly and as effec- 
tually as any of them.'* 

The indecency of the election exceeded all that had 

been formerly practised at Westminster. Admiral 

Gardner was one day even pulled from his carri^ige 

by the mob in the interest of Mr. Tooke. The gaf- 

M2 



138 THE LIFE OF 

lant Admiral behaved with the greatest coohiess, 
expostulated with his furious antagonists, who com- 
menced a general assault with stones, that obliged 
him to take refuge in a shop, on which the populace 
proceeded to destroy his carriage. 

At the final close of the poll the numbers were : 

For Mr. Fox - 5160 

For Sir A. Gardner 4814 

For Mr. Home Tooke ... - 2810 

The new parliament commenced its operations in 
October, when Mr. Fox expressed his hearty con- 
currence in the endeavours of the minister to re- 
store peace, by opening a negociation with France, 
and sending an ambassador to Paris. In December 
he moved for a vote of censure against Mr. Pitt, for 
having advanced money to the Emperor of Germany 
and the French emigrant princes, without even the 
previous corrsent or knowledge of parliament. The 
debate on this occasion was long and animated, and 
even some of the minister's friends concurred in the 
sentiments of Mr. Fox on this transaction. An 
amendment was proposed, by Mr. Bragge, by which 
the motion was finally lost by a majority of 285 
against 81. So large a minority was considered as 
unprecedented since the commencement of the war. 

In the early part of 1797, a number of gentlemen 
who had before given their support to Mr. Pitt, 
alarmed at the strong measures adopted by govern- 
ment, formed themselves into a sort of confederacy, 
by the appellation of the Neutral Squad. They were 
desirous of seeing an administration formed on the 
principles of Mr. Fox, and in which his friends 
should have a decided majority, but from Vv'hich, in 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 139 

tenderness to the prejudices of the tory party, that 
gentleman himself was to be excluded. Private ap- 
plications were made to the friends of Mr. Fox, but 
with a consistency which did them honour, they 
infused any participation in such a measure^ unless 
under the immediate auspices of their distinguished 
leader. 

Mr. Fox was one of three gentlemen, who, on 
the 10th of May, 1797, presented to his Majesty a 
petition from Bristol for the dismission of ministers, 
signed by between three and four thousand persons. 
A similar petition was a few days afterwards pre- 
sented by him from Antrim ; and as a privy coun- 
sellor of the king, he desired an audience in the clo- 
set, in which he represented to his Majesty the 
alarming situation of the two kingdoms.— The king 
was, however, too well convinced of the ability and 
integrity of those to whom he had committed the 
management of affairs, to suffer the insinuations of 
the opposite party to make any impression on his 
mind. 

On the 23d of May, 1797, Mr. Fox moved for the 
repeal of the Treason and Sedition Bills, but on a di- 
vision, found himself in a minority of 52 against 260. 
A few days afterwards, on the 26th, his friend, Mr. 
Grey, submitted to the house a motion for a reform, 
in the representation of the people in parliament, in 
which he was seconded by Mr. Erskine. On this 
occasion Mr. Fox expatiated at great length on the 
urgent necessity of a reform, and concluded one of 
the most brilliant and argumentative speeches ever 
delivered in parliament, in the following words : 

" I aow return my most hearty thanks to those 



140 THE LIFE OF 

v^ho brought forward this motion, in the hope that 
it will save the country. We are now at our last 
stake, and if public affars are continued to be ma- 
naged by the present men, the nation must go to 
ruin. If it be thought that I have any personal wish 
to be one of their successors, it is a mistaken idea ; 
it is true, that I should be glad to see other men fill 
their situations, but I solemnly declare that I have 
no wish to be one of them. I heard it said ; " You 
do nothing but mischief when you are here, and yet 
■we should be sorry to see you away." I do not know 
how we shall be able to satisfy the gentlemen who 
feel towards us in this way ; if we can neither do our 
duty without mischief, nor please them by doing 
nothing, I know bat one way by which we can give 
them content, and that is by putting an end to 4 
our existence. With respect to myself, and I be- ^ 
lieve I can also speak for others, I do not feel it to be 
consistent with my duty totally to secede from this- 
house. I have no such intention ; but I have no 
hesitation in saying, that after seeing the conduct of 
this house ; after seeing them give to ministers their 
confidence and support, after convicted failure, im- 
position, and incapacity ; after seeing them deaf and 
blind to the consequences of a career that penetrates 
the hearts of all other men with alarm ; and that nei- 
ther reason, experience, nor duty, are sufficiently 
powerful to influence them to oppose the career of 
government, I certainly do think that I may devote 
more of my time to my private pursuits, and to the 
retirement which I love, than I have hitherto done : ._i 
I certainly think that I need not devote so much of it |fj 
to fruitless exertions and to idle talk in this hou^e 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 141 

Whenever it shall appear that my efforts may con- 
tribute, in any degree, to restore us to the situation 
from which the confidence of the house, and an inca- 
pable administration, has so suddenly reduced us, I 
shall be found ready to discharge my duty. Sir, I 
have done ; I have given my advice. I propose the 
remedy : and fatal will it be for Eti^land, if pride and 
prejudice shall much longer continue to oppose it." 

Conformably to this declaration, Mr. Fox retired 
from his ordinary service in parliament, and even 
signified his readiness to resign his seat, if he should 
be called on to do so by his constituents. About this 
period he was daily pestered with abusive letters, 
under the signature of " An Elector of Westminster.** 
For Uiis vexation there was no remedy. On recei- 
ving the letters he used to throw them on the table, 
and say, " There are another score of electors." On 
opening them and looking at the subscription, if he 
found the word Elector : " Here's more paper for 
tlie cook," he would exclaim, and throw one after 
the other upon the floor. " Lord North" he observ- 
ed on one of these occasions, " read every thing that 
was written against him, and rewarded those who 
wrote wittily, but I cannot imitate him, for I could 
wish to believe that I have no enemies." 

Mr. Fox now steadily adhered to his resolution of 
coming forward in parliament only on important 
occasions. One of these presented itself on the dis- 
cussion of the assessed tax bill, when he resumed his 
seat, and appeared in strenuous opposition to that 
measure. 

If Mr. Fox discontinued his attendance in the 
House of Commons, still his exertions were not 



142 THE LIFE OF 

wanting to cheer and animate his party. At the 
numerous meetings of the Whig Club, by which 
the anniversary of his birth-day, and of the first elec- 
tion for Westminster, had been for many years cele- 
brated-, he never failed to be present. At these con- 
•vival assemblies, it is not improbable that their liba- 
tions to Bacchus heated their imaginations to such a 
degree, as to cause Mr. Fox and his friends to trans- 
gress those limits which prudence in their cooler mo- 
ments would have prescribed. 

The anniversary of his birth-day was held on the 
24th of January, 1898, at the Crown and Anchor. 
Tickets, to the number of eighteen hundred, were 
issued; and several who had paid for admission, 
were obliged to seek entertainment elsewhere. So 
great was the crowd, that many were hurt in attempt- 
ing to gain admission. The principal leaders of the 
Corresponding Societies attended. 

The Duke of Norfolk presided as chairman. Af- 
ter dinner his Grace addressed the meeting . — *' We 
are met," said he, " in a moment of difficulty, to ce- 
lebrate the birth of a man dear to the friends of free- 
dom, I shall only recall to your memory, that, not 
twenty years ago, the illustrious George Washington 
had not more than two thousand men to rally round 
him when his country wa.s attacked. America is 
now free. This day full two thousand men are as- 
sembled in this place. I leave you to make the ap- 
plication." — The Duke then gave this toast — " Our 
sovereign's health, the majesty of the people." The 
consequence of this intemperate and indecent con 
duct, (to say no more of it) in the first peer of the 
realm, was, that in a few days his Majesty signified 



CHARLES JAMES TOX. 143 

his pleasure, that the Duke should be displaced from 
'his appointment oi ioid-lieutenant of the West-Rid- 
ing- of the County of York, and also from the com- 
mand of the militia of that Riding. 

So far from being daunted by this mark of royal 
displeasure, Mr. Foxnotlong afterwards by a similar 
conductj incurred alike disgrace. On the 3d of May 
a great number of the members of the Whig Club 
dined together at Freemason's Tavern. Mr. Fox 
was in the chair ; and after the ordinary toasts, he 
said ; " I will give you a toast, than which I think 
there cannot be a better, according to the principles 
of this club — I mean the Sovereignty of the People 
of Great Britain." He then in a speech fully decla- 
ratory of his sentiments, condemned ministers in the 
most pointed manner for the strong measures at that 
time adopted in Ireland, and which measures, he said, 
they certainly intended should soon be enforced in 
J^ngland. He, however, declared, that he would be 
one of the first in repelling any foreign enemy under 
whatever government England might be. He compa- 
red the ministry to the Directory of France ; affirmed 
that he was resolved upon retirement ; but that he 
would be happy to come forward whenever the coun- 
try demanded his services. He entertained no ap- 
prehensions of an invasion, (the country being then 
menaced by the French,) and was fully persuaded, 
that should the enemy be rash enough to land even 
with a formidable force, the people would soon rout 
them and destroy the invaders. The opinion enter- 
tained by his Majesty of the sentiments avowed by 
Mr. Fox on this occasion, was immediately manifest- 
ed in, the erasure of his name from the list of privy- 
counsellors. 



144 THE LIFE or 

At the trials for high treason which took place in 
the same month at Maidstone, Mr. Fox was one of 
the -many distinguished characters whose testimony- 
was given in favour of Arthur O'Connor. Though 
he undoubtedly gratified the feelings of private friend- 
ship by the part he acted on this occasion, yet it was 
not calculated to add to his reputation with the pub- 
lic, many of whom did not hesitate to stigmatize him 
as a secret accomplice of the prisoners, one of whom 
paid the forfeit of his life to the violated laws of his 
country. 

Turning now from scenes of clamorous opposition, 
we shall folloV the statesman into the privacy of do- 
mestic life, at St. Ann's Hill, where he spent the 
principal part of his time in profound retirement dur- 
ing his secession from parliament. Here he was able 
to resume those literary pursuits which pleasure and 
dissipation, or the performance of his senatorial du- 
ties, had so long interrupted. 

His mode of life was regulated with gfeat unifor- 
mity. Contrary to the practice of former times, he 
rose very early. Habits of regularity, more suited 
to his advancing years, were now substituted for the 
watching of the tavern and the ferment of the gaming- 
houses. Burke, befwe his rupture with Mr. Fox, 
used frequently to call on his friend on his way to the 
house, and found him at three o'clock beginning his 
breakfast. — " There's Charles," he would say, " while 
I am exhausted by reading and business, he is quite 
fresh ; it is no wonder that he is so much more vigo- 
rous in the house." 

In his retirement Mr. Fox became acquainted with 
the pleasures and advantages of early rising. — On the 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 145 

western extremity of St. Ann's Hill stands a solitavy 
beach-tree, which grows upon a narrow platform ele- 
vated above the general surface of the hill. This 
point commands an extensive view of the vale through 
which Father Thames winds his majestic course 
from Chertsey to Windsor. This was a favourite 
spot with Mr. Fox, who caused a seat to be made 
around the tree, and this was his usual walk oefore 
breakfast. 

Such was his attachment to study, that he had form- 
ed a certain daily plan, to which he adhered so in- 
flexibly, that he was sometimes impatient when in- 
terrupted. He dedicated an hour before breakfast 
either to the acquisition of a new language, or the 
recollection of one in some degree obliterated. His 
method of learning a language was singular. After 
labouring a week at his grammar, in getting by heart 
the declinable parts, the, substantives, adjectives, and 
verbs, he immediately began, with the assistance of 
his dictionary, to read some classic author, learning 
the syntax by reference as the examples occurred. 

After breakfast Mr. Fox usually employed himself 
in reading till two o'clock, and in this he also followed 
a certain method. In reading Gibbon's history, for 
example, he compared that author with the writers 
whose authority he has quoted. Of Gibbon and 
Hume, he observed, that the one so loved a king, and 
the other so hated a priest, that neither of them could 
be depended upon where either a priest or a king 
was concerned. He discovered that the former had 
quoted many books as authority of which he had only 
read the preface. Of this he produced a singular 
instance, where the historian has quoted a passage of 
N 



146 THE LIFE OF 

a writer as being in the third book, though the 
whole work consists only of two. Into this error 
Gibbon was led by a mistake in the preface of the 
book quoted. Mr. Fox disliked the florid stile and 
verbosity of Gibbon as much as he approved his his- 
toric concentration. " He thinks," said he, '' like 
Tacitus, and writes like Curtius.'* It was a frequent 
practice with him in his reading to erase unnecessary 
words with his pen ; this method he likewise followed 
with his copy of Gibbon's work, which could not fail 
to be interesting to the public* 

Smith's " Wealth of Nations" was a favourite ele- 
mentary book with Mr. Fox, who, however, used to 
observe, that he v/as tedious, formal beyond the ne- 
cessity of his work, and too fond of deduction where 
there is nothing to deduce. " He proves," said Mr. 
Fox, " where no one can doubt, and enters upon a 
chain of reasoning to produce a most unmeaning re- 
sult. HoM^ever closely and drily he has written, one 
half of his book may be omitted with great benefit to 
the subject." Of the works of Turgot he spoke with 
contempt, and said, " that the French had not liberty 
enough to understand finance and political economy." 
Henry's History of England he treated with respect ; 
but often expressed his surprise at Belsham's George 
III. and would exclaim, *' How can a man with his 
eyes open write in this manner !" 

Mr. Fox regularly took every paper morning and 
evening. The Morning Chronicle, which might 
justly be denominated the mouth-piece of his party, 
was of coiU'se his favorite. Though we cannot af- 

* It is said to be at present in the possession of Lord Lau- 
^deidale. 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 147 

iirm that he ever wrote for that paper, yet his friends 
have, on various occasions, imagined that they re- 
cognized not only the style, but the very ideas and 
words tvhich he expressed in conversation. 

Having passed the morning in this manner, Mr. 
Fox, wlien the weather permitted, would walk to 
Chertsey, and thence to Laleham, and return to 
dinner. He seldom had any company ; the Duke of 
Bedford was occasionally his guest ; but most fre- 
quently he was alone with Mrs. Armstead. His 
mode of living was simple and unexpensive ; his 
wine indeed cost him nothing; for at the earnest re- 
quest of one of his ardent admirers, who was ^ 
wine-merchant, he permitted him to supply his ta- 
ble, and could never prevail upon him to produce 
his bill. 

According to his own confesison, Mr. Fox enjoyed 
his tea more than either breakfast or dinner. A 
novel was an invariable appendage of his tea-table ; ' 
and he would read alternately with Mrs. Armstead' 
and the Duke of Bedford, when that nobleman was 
present. On the arrival of Miss Burney's Camilla^ 
Mr. Fox w^as at dinner, and was eager to begin rea- 
ding the book immediately ; but IVIrs. Armstead took 
it from him, laughing, telling him at the same time, 
that he must be regular and wait ti!I tea. The books 
were accordingly conveyed to the tea-room : the 
wished-for moment came ; Mrs. Armstead com- 
menced, and it was truly pleasing to see tlie in- 
terest vvith which Mr. Fox listened to the work. 

It is pretty certain that Mr. Fox wrote very little, 
and persons intimately acquainted with him, have no 
hesitation to declare, that his history of the Revolu- 



148 THE LIFE OF 

tion, of which so many silly reports have been pro- 
pagated, existed only in idea. He has been heard 
indeed, to say, that no reign i^ so unsatisfactorily 
written as that of William the Third, but h^ never 
intimated any serious intention of supplying the de- 
ficiency himself. 

Mr. Fox was an excellent swimmer, and from his 
boyish years bathing was his delight. He used dai- 
ly to plunge into the river, but remained in the water 
a very short time. In summer he walked much in 
the evening, and never retired to bed till a very late 
hour. 

In this manner day after day passed away in tran- 
quil retirement. His felicity was not a little height- 
ened by the society of the female whom he had cho- 
sen for his companion, and whose conduct during her 
whole connection with Mr. Fox, appears to have 
been truly exemplary. So sensible was he to the 
share which Mrs. Armstead contributed to his feli- 
city, that he presented her, while at the breakfast 
table on the morning of the 24th of January, 1799, 
tlie following elegant complimentary lines : % 

Of years I have now half a century past 

And none of the fifty so blest as the last. 

How it happens my troubles thus dally should cease, 

A.nd my happiness still with my years should increase, 

This defiance of Nature's more general laws 

You alone can explain, who alone are the cause. 

From this enviable solitude the statesman was oc- 
casionally called forth by the discussion of important 
questions in the House of Commons. On the 3d of 
February, 1800, he delivered a long and animated 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 149 

Speech on the subject of the overtures of peace, made 
by Bonaparte, on his elevation to the consulship. He 
likewise took an active part in the debate on the 
25th of March, 1801, when Mr. Grey moved for an 
inquiry into the state of the nation. 

The union with Ireland was productive of cir- 
cumstances which rendered it necessary for Mr. Pitt 
to retire from office. Mr. Fox and his associates 
were held forth by the opposition as the only public 
men fit to succeed the ministers who had resigned. 
The king, however, could not reconcile such an ap- 
pointment with his feelings, and the arrangement of 
a new administmtion was confided to Mr. Adding- 
ton. Under his auspices the peace of Amiens was 
negociated. Mr. Fox, who had ahvays been inimi- 
cal to war, assented to the measure, not perhaps on 
the ground of its being the best possible peace, but 
mierely because it was in every point of view prefe- 
rable to the state of warfare in which the country 
had been for so many years involved. 

For the abilities of Mr. Addington, Mr. Fox en- 
tertained the most sovereign contempt. He once 
observed in a large party : " My Lord Salisbury 
would make a better minister, only he is wanted for 
court dancing-master." Being asked what Mr. Ad- 
dington would do after he had made peace, he repli- 
ed : "I cannot say ; but it will be something which 
"Will render him ridiculous to the end of time. If 
Mr. Addington wishes for supreme authority, let 
him be King of Bath, if he has interest enough at the 
Rooms ; he will find it more pleasant, and, more to 
bis reputation." 



N 



150 THE LIFE OF 

In March, 1802, Mr. Fox lost one of his firmest 
friends and supporters in the Duke of Bedford. In 
moving for a new v/rit for Tavistock, for the elec- 
tion of a member for that borough in the place of 
the present duke, Mr. Fox took occasion to pro- 
nounce the following eloquent eulogium on his de- 
ceased friend. 

" If the sad event which has recently occurred 
were only a private misfortune, however heavy, I 
should feel the impropriety of obtruding upon the 
House the feelings of private friendship, and would 
have sought some other opportunity of expressing 
those sentiments of gratitude and affection, which 
must be ever due from me to the memory of the ex- 
cellent person, whose loss gives occasion to the sort 
of motion of course, which I am about to make to 
the house. It is because I consider the death of the 
»Duke of Bedford as a great public calamity, because 
the public itself seems so to consider it ; because, 
not in this town only, but in every part of the king- 
dom, the impression made by it seems to be the 
strongest and most universal, that ever appeared up- 
on the loss of a subject ; it is for these reasons that I 
presume to hope for the indulgence of the House, if 
I deviate, in some degree, from the common course, 
and introduce my motion in a manner which I must 
confess to be unusual on similar occasions. At the 
same time, I trust. Sir, that I shall not be suspected', 
of any intention to abuse the indulgence which I ask, 
by dwelling, with the fondness of friendship, upon, 
the various excellencies of the character to which I 
have alluded, much less by entering into a history 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 151 

of the several events of his life, which might serve 
to illustrate it. There was somethini^ in that charac- 
ter so peculiar and striking, and the just admiration 
which his virtues commanded, was such, that to expa- 
tiate upon them in any detail is unnecessary, as upon 
this occasion it would be improper. That he has 
been much lamented and generally, cannot be won- 
dered at, for surely there never was a more just oc- 
casion of public sorrow. To lose such '•a man 1 — at 
such a time ! — so unexpectedly 1 The particular 
stage of his life too in which we lost him, must add 
to every feeling of regret, and make the disappoint- 
ment more severe and poignant to all thinking minds. 
Had he fallen at an earlier period, the public to whom 
he could then (comparatively speaking at least) be 
but little known, would rather have compassioned 
and condoled with the feelings of his friends and re- 
lations, than have been them&elves very severely af- 
flicted by the loss. It would have been suggested, 
and even we who were the most partial must have 
admitted, that the expectations raised by the dawn 
are not always realized in the meridian of life. If 
the fatal event had been postponed, the calamity 
might have been alleviated by the consideration, that 
mankind could not have looked forward for any 
length of time to the exercise of his virtues and ta- 
lents. But he was snatched away at a m.oment when 
society might have been expected to be long bene- 
fited by his benevolence, his energy, and his wis- 
dom ; when we had obtained a full certainty that the 
progress of his life would be more than answerable 
to the brightest hopes conceived from its cutset ; 
and when it might have been reasonably hoped, that 



152 THE LIFE OF 

after having accomplished all tbe good of which if 
was capable, he would have descended not imma- 
turely into the tomb. He had, on the one hand, liv- 
ed long enough to have his character fully confirmed 
and established, while, on the other, what remained 
of life seemed, according to all human expectations, 
to afford ample space and scope for the exercise of 
the virtues of which that character was composed. 
The tree was old enough to enable us to ascertain 
the quality of the fruit which it would bear, and, at 
the same time, young enough to promise many 
years of produce. The high rank and splendid for- 
tune of the great man of whom I am speaking, though 
not circumstances which in themselves either can or 
ought to conciliate the regard and esteem of ration- 
al minds, are yet so far considerable, as an elevated 
situation, by making him who is placed in it more 
powerful and conspicuous, causes his virtues or vi- 
ces to be more useful or injurious to society. In this- 
case, the rank and wealth of the person are to be 
attended to in another and a very different point of 
view. To appreciate his merits justly, we must con- 
sider, not only the advantages, but the disadvantages,, 
connected with such circumstances. The dangers 
attending prosperity in general, and high situation 
in particular, the corrupt influence of flattery, to 
which men in such situations are more peculiarly ex- 
posed, have been the theme of moralists in all ages 
and in all nations : but how are these dangers in- 
creased with respect to him who succeeds in his- 
childhood to the first rank and fortune in a kingdom 
such as this, and who having lost Ms. parents, is ne- 
ver approached by any being who is not represented. 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 153 

to him as in some degree his inferior ! Unless bles- 
sed with a heart uncommonly susceptible and dispo- 
sed to virtue, how should he who has scarcely ever 
seen an equal, have a common feeling, and a just 
sympathy, for the rest of mankind, who seemed to 
have been formed rather/or him, and as instruments 
of his gratification, than together toith him for the 
general purposes of nature ? Justly has the Roman 
satirist remarked, 

Rarus enim fel'me sensus communis in ilia 
Fortuna. 

" This was precisely the case of the Duke of Bed- 
ford, nor do I know that his education was perfectly 
exempt from defects usually belonging to such situa- 
tions ; but virtue found her own way, and on the very 
side where the danger was the greatest was her tri- 
umph most complete. From the blame of selfish- 
ness no man was ever so eminently free. No man 
put his own gratification so low, that of others so high 
in his estimation. To contribute to the welfare of 
his fellow citizens was the constant, unremitted per- 
suit of his life, by his example and his beneficence 
to render them better, wiser, and happier. He truly 
loved the public, but not only the public, according 
to the usual acceptance of , the word ; not merely the 
body corporate (if I may so express myself) v/hich 
bears that name, but man in his individual capacity ; 
all who came within his notice and deserved his pro- 
tection, were objects of his generous concern. From 
his station the sphere of his acquaintance was larger 
than that of most other men ; yfet in his extended 
circle, few, very few, could be counted to whom he 



154 THE LIFE OF 

had not found some occasion to be serviceable. To be 
useful, whether to the public at large, whether to his 
relations and nearer friends, or even to an individual' 
of liis species, was the ruling passion of his life. 

" He died, it is true, in a state of ceHbacy, but if 
they may be called a man's children whose concerns 
are as dear to him as his own — to protect whom from 
evil is the daily object of his care — to promote whose 
welfare he exerts every faculty of which he is pos- 
sessed : if such, I say, are to be esteemed our chil- 
dren, no man had ever a more numerous family than 
the Duke of Bedford. 

• " Private frie'ndships are not, I own, a lit topic for 
this House, or any public assembly ; but it is difficult 
for any one who had the honour and happiness to be 
his friend, not to advert (when speaking of such a 
man) to his conduct and behaviour in that interesting 
character. In his friendship, not only he was disin- 
terested and sincere, but in him were to be found 
united all the characteristic excellencies which have 
ever distinguished the men most renowned for that 
most amiable of all virtues. Some are warm, but vo- 
latile and inconstant ; he was warm too, but steady 
and unchangeable. Never once was he known to vi- 
olate any of the duties of that sacred relation. Where 
his attachment was placed, there it remainded, or 
rather there it grew ; for it may be more truly said 
of this man, than of any other tljat ever existed, that 
if he loved you at the beginning of the year, and 
you did nothing to forfeit his esteem, he would love 
you still more at the end of it. Such was the uni- 
formly progressive state of his affections, no less 
than of his virtue and wisdom. 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 155 

" It has happened to many, and he was certainly- 
one of the number, to grow wiser as they advanced 
in years. Some have even improved in virtue, but 
it has generally been in that class of virtue only' which 
consists in resisting the allurements of vite, and too 
often have these advantages been counterbalanced by 
the loss, or at least the diminution of that openness of 
hoart, that warmth of feeling, that readiness of sym- 
pathy, that generosity of spirit, which have been reck- 
oned among the characteristic attributes of youth. In 
this case it was far otherwise ; endued by nature with 
an unexampled firmness of character, he could bring 
his mind to a more complete state of discipline than 
any man I ever knew. But he had, at the same time, 
such a comprehensive and just view of all moral ques- 
tions, that he well knew to distinguish between those 
inclinations, which, if indulged, must be pernicious, 
and the feelings, which, if cultivated, might prove 
beneficial to mankind. All bad propensities there- 
fore, if any such he had, he completely conquered and 
suppressed, while, on the other hand, no man ever 
studied the trade by which he was to get his bread — 
the profession by which he hoped to rise in wealth 
and honour — nor even the higher arts of poetry or 
eloquence, in pursuit of a fancied immortality, with 
more zeal and ardour than this excellent person cul- 
tivated the noble art of doing good to his fellow-crea- 
tures. In this pursuit, above all others, diligence is 
sure of success, and accordingly it would be difficult 
to find an example of any other man to whom so many 
individuals are indebted for happiness or comfort, or 
to whom the public at large owe more essential obli- 
gation. 



156 THE LIFE or 

" So far was he from slackening or growing cold in 
these generous pursuits, that the only clanger was, 
lest, notwithstanding his admirable rood sense, and 
that remarkable soberness of character, which distin- 
guished him, his munificence might, if he had lived, 
have engaged him in expenses to which even his 
princely fortune would have been found inadequate. 
Thus the only circumstance like a failing in this great 
character was, that, while indulging his darling pas- 
sion for making himself useful to others, he might be 
too regardless of future consequences to himself and 
family. The love of utility was indeed his ruling 
passion. Even in his recreations, (and he was by no 
inea,ns naturally averse to such as were suitable to his 
station of life) no less than in his graver hours, he so 
much loved to keep this grand object in view, that he^ 
seemed by degrees to grow weary of every amuse- 
ment which was not, in some degee connected with 
it. Agriculture he judged rightly to be the most 
useful of all sciences, and more particularly, in the 
present state of affairs he conceived it to be the de- 
partment in which his services to his country might 
be most beneficial. To agriculture, therefore, he 
principally applied himself, nor can it be doubted but 
with this capacity, activity, and energy, he must have 
attained his object, and made himself eminently \^se- 
ful in that most important branch of political economy. 
'Of the particular' degree of bis merit in this respect, 
how much the public is already indebted to him — how 
much benefit it may still expect to derive from the ef- 
fects of his unwearied diligence and splendid exam- 
ple, is a question upon which many members of this 
house can form a much more accurate judgment than 



€HAIILES JAMES FOX. 157 

I can pretend to do. But of his motive to these ex- 
ertions I am competent to judge, and can affirm Avith- 
cut a doubtj that it was the same which actuated him 
throughout — an ardent desire to employ his faculties 
in the way, whatever it might be, in which he could 
most contribute to the good of his country, and the 
general interest of mankind. 

" With regard to his politics, I feel a great unwil« 
lingness to be wholly silent on the subject, and at the 
same time much difficulty in treating it with proprie- 
ty, when I consider to whom I am addressing myself. 
I am sensible that those principles upon which in any 
other place I should not hesitate to pronounce an un- 
qualified eulogium, may be thought by some, perhaps 
by the majority of this House, rather to stand in need 
of apology and exculpation, than to form a proper 
subject for panegyric. But even in this view I may 
be allowed to offer a few words in favour of my depart- 
ed friend. I believe few, if any, of us are so infatua- 
ted with the extreme notions of philosophy as not to 
feel a partial veneration for the principles, some lean- 
ing even to the prejudices of the ancestors, especially 
if they were of any note, from whom we are respec- 
tively descended. Such biassesare always, as I sus- 
pect, favourable to the cause of patriotism and public 
virtue ; I am sure, at least, that in Athens and Rome 
they were so considered. No man had ever less of 
family pride, in the bad sense, than the Duke of Bed- 
ford ; but he had a great and just respect for his an- 
cestors. Now if upon thfe principle to which I have 
alluded, it was in Rome thought excusable in one of 
the Claudii to have, in conformity with the general 
manners of their race, something too much of an ar- 
O 



158 THE LIFE OF 

istocratical pride and haughtiness, surely in this coun-. 
try it is not unpardonable in a Russell to be zealously 
attached to the rights of the subject, and peculiarly 
tenacious of the popular parts of our constitution. It 
is excusable, at least, in one who numbers among his 
ancestors the great Earl of Bedford, the patron of 
Pym, and the friend of Hampden, to be an enthusias- 
tic lover of liberty : nor is it to be wondered at if a 
descendant of Lord Russell should feel more than 
common horror for arbitrary power, and a quick, 
perhaps even a jealous discernment of any approach 
or tendency in the system of government to that 
dreaded evil. But whatever may be our differences 
in regard to principles, I trust there is no member of 
this House who is not liberal enough to do justice to 
upright conduct even in a political adversary. What- 
ever, therefore, may be thought of those principles 
to which I have alluded, the political conduct of my 
much-lamented friend must be allowed by all to have 
been manly, consistent, and sincere. 

" It now remains for me to touch upon the last 
melancholy scene in which this excellent man was to 
be exhibited, and to all those who admire his charac- 
ter, let it be some consolation that his exit was in 
every respect conformable to his past life. I have 
already noticed that prosperity could not corrupt him. 
He had now to undergo a trial of an opposite nature. 
But in every instance he was alike true to his charac- 
ter, and in moments of extreme bodily pain and ap- 
proaching dissolution, when it might be expected 
that a man's every feeling would be concentrated in 
l)is personal sufferings — his every thought occupied 
by the awful event impending — even in these mo- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 159 

ments he put by all selfish considerations ; kindness 
to his friends was the sentiment still uppermost in 
his mind, and he employed himself, to the last hour 
of his life, in making the most considerate anange- 
ments for the happiness and comfort of those who 
were to survive him. While in the enjoyment-of 
prosperity he had learned and practised all those 
milder virtues which adversity alone is supposed ca- 
pable of teaching ; and in the hour of pain and ap- 
proaching death, he had that calmness and serenity 
which are thought to belong exclusively to health of 
body, and a mind at ease. 

" If I have taken an unsual, and possibly an irregu^ 
lar, course upon this extraordinary occasion, I am 
confident the House will pardon me. They will for- 
give — something, no doubt, to the warmth of private 
friendship — to sentiments of gratitude which I must 
feel, and, whenever I have an opportunity, must ex- 
press to the latest hour of my life. But the consider- 
ation of the public utility, to which I have so much 
adverted as the ruling principle in the mind of my 
friend^ will weigh far more with them. They will 
in their wisdom acknowledge, that to celebrate and 
perpetuate the memory of great and meritorious 
individuals, is in effect an essential service to the 
community. It was not therefore for the purpose of 
performing the pious office of friendship by fondly 
strewing flowers upon his tomb, that I have drawn 
your attention to the character of the Duke of Bed- 
ford : the motive that actuates me, is one more suit- 
able to what were his views. It is that this great 
character may be strongly impressed upon the minds 
of all who hear me — that they may sec it — that they 



leO THE LIFE OF 

may feel it — that they may discourse of it in their 
domestic circles — that they may speak of it to their 
children, and hold it up to the imitation of posterity. 
If he could now be sensible to what passes here be- 
low, I am sure that nothing could give him so much 
satisfaction as ta find that we are endeavouring to 
make his memory tind example, as he took care his 
life should be useful to mankind. 

" I will conclude with applying to the present oc- 
casion a beautiful passage from the speech of a very 
young orator.* It may be thought perhaps to savor 
too much of the sanguine views of youth to stand 
th^ test of a rigid philosophical Inquiry ; but it is at 
least cheering and consolatory, and that in this in- 
stance it may be exemplified, is, I am confident, the 
sincere wish of every man who hears me :— 'Crime,' 
says he, ' is a curse only to the period in which it is 
successful ; but virtue, wheth;sr fortunate or other- 
wise, blesses not only its own age, but the remotest 
posterity, and is as beneficial by its example as by its 
immediate effect.'* 

At the general election in 1802, Mr. Fox and 
Lord Gardner again appeared as candidates for 
Westminster, but an extraordinary opposition took 
place on the part of Mr. John Graham, a SheriflT's 
broker. Notwithstanding the small number that ^t 
first polled for the latter, he persevered till the ninth 
day, by which time he became such a favourite with 
the populace as to obtain many more votes than could 
have been imagined. The friends of Mr. Fox then 
began to exert all their influence on his behalf, and 
* The Hon. William Lamb, 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 161 

even resolved on a personal canvass of the electors, 
which induced Mr. Graham to relinquish his preten- 
sions. At the close of the Poll, the numbers were : 

For Mr. Fox - 2673 

For Lord Gardner 243 i 

For Mr. Graham 1691 

Mr. Fox, after taking an active part in promoting 
the election of his friend, Sir Francis Burdet, for 
Middlesex, set out for the Continent about the be- 
ginning of August, It was generally reported that 
the object of this visit was to make historical re- 
searches at the Scotch College at Paris, for mate- 
rials towards his intended history of the Stuarts. 
That Mr. Fox did actually engage in some research- 
es of that nature is certain ; but whether he ever en- 
tertained the design ascribed to him may, as has been 
already observed, very justly be questioned. 

Previous to his departure, resolving to spare him- 
self the mortifications he had experienced in his 
tour in 1788, he procured a licence, and was ma,r- 
ried to Mrs. Armstead. The ceremony was pri- 
vate, and was performed by the Hon. and Kev. Mr, 
St. John. 

On the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Fox at Calais, they 
were waited on by the municipality in their scarfs, 
and treated with the most flattering marks of respect. 
In a handsome speech to Mrs. Fox, the mayor ex- 
pressed " the high gratification which he and his fel- 
low citizens felt in seeing in their municipality the 
great and disinterested statesman, whose counsels, 
had they been seasonably adopted, would have pre- 
vented the calamities that have distracted the world." 
They desired to know if they would order any par- 
O 2 



132 THE LIFE OF 

ticular play for the evening. This they declihed to 
do ; and the next day proceeded on their way to Am- 
sterdam, whence they went to Paris by the way of 
Spa. 

At Lisle INIr. Fox was recognized, though he tra- 
velled incognito. He immediately received congra- 
tulations in the name of the citizens and of the gar- 
, vision, and was invited to an entertainment given in 
honoui^ of him the next day at the Circus. At the 
Theatre, Avhich was very full, his reception was ex- 
tremely flattering ; fire-works announced his return 
to the Circus, which was illuminated with mfich 
taste, and thronged. The band of the 61st demi- 
brigade waited for him at his lodgings to give him a 
serenade. 

"^ On his arrival at Paris, every one hastened to 
hail the " English patriot and. the benefactor of the 
human race." This homage was not only paid him 
by private individuals, but he received addresses from 
(>]1 the public and learned bodies, complimenting 
him Vv'ith the same term. He visited all by whom 
he was invited : and as he was invited every where, 
liis circle of acquaintance was very extensive. This 
afforded him an opportunity of seeing and studying 
many of the most eminent characters during the re- 
volution, of which he did not fail to avail himself. 

At the consular court Mr. Fox was received with 
the highest distinction. It was even said that, a few 
days after his arrival, Mr. Fox having sent his com- 
pliments to the first Consul, requesting to know 
when he might wait upon him, received for answer 
from Bonaparte, " that he would be happy to see such 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 163 

a man as Mr. Fox at any hour of the day or night he 
might chose to appoint." 

At the public audience on the 3d of September, 
Mr. Fox was presented by Mr. Merry. Twice did 
the First Consul accost him, and among the flattering 
things said, " that there were in the world but two 
nations, the one inhabiting the east, the other the 
west. The English, French, Germans, Italians, 8cc. 
under the same civil code, having the same manners, 
the same habits, and almost the same religion, are 
nil members of the same family,* and the men who 
wish to light up again the flame of war among them 
wish for civil war ; these principles, Sir, were deve- 
loped in your speeches with an energy that does as 
much honour to your heart as your head." Mr. Fox 
dined the same day with the first Consul, who had a 
very long conversation with him in the presence of a 
numerous company. 

It is certain that Bonaparte entertained a very 
high regard for Mr. Fox, and eagerly seized every 
opportunity of manifesting it. He publicly declared 
that, if the then English ministers had been such 
men as Mr. Fox, England and France might remain 
at eternal peace, and mutually concur in each other's 
happiness. From the intimacy of Mr. Fox with the 
details of the French administration, his country 
might probably have derived advantage, had it plea*- 
sed Providence to prolong his life. In the formation 

*' This was spoken by the same man who a few weeks 
before had sanctioned in his officiat paper, the Moniteur, a 
tirade equally violent, puerile, and illiberal, abusing the na- 
tives of England for durning coaly eating beef, and drininig 
porter ►' / / 



164 THE LIFE OF 

of many of the internal arrangements of the French 
government he was personally concerned. He ex- 
plamed to their ministry the English law of the liber- 
ty of the press, and aided them in the adaptation of 
the civil code to the circumstances of France at 
that period. 

On the 16th of September Mr. Fox assisted at the 
extraordinary sitting, which took place at the Tribu- 
nate. A few minutes before the opening of the 
sitting, M. Boyer, captain of the guard of the Tri- 
bunate, advanced to Mr. Fox, and addressed him in 
these words : " I am one, Sir, of two hundred F'rench 
prisoners, who in the year 3, (1795) were prisoners 
at Portchester. We applied to you and you had the 
generosity to exert your eloquence in our favor. 
On a sudden our chains were broken, and we were 
almost free. This benefit will never be forgotten 
by my companions in misfortune : but I am at pre- 
sent happier than they are, because I am able to de- 
clare to you publicly my gratitude. I intreat you to 
add to it if it be possible, by condescending to ac- 
cept my weak but sincere expression of it.'* Mr. 
Fox appeared to be much affected by this expres- 
sion, of gratitude. He replied, with a motion indica- 
tive of modesty : " O yes, Sir, I recollect.'* 

To ape Mr. Fox was now the fashion at Paris. His 
dress, his manner of speaking, nay, his very dinners, 
were imitated. The beaux of Paris exhibited a sin- 
gular contrast between what they actually were, and 
what they endeavoured to appear. It was the fashion 
to be a thinking man, to think like Fox ; and the cox- 
combs endeavoured to model their features to that 
chai'acter. At the opera he attracted every eye, and 



CHARLES JAMES EOX. 165 

was followed as a spectacle through the streets. His 
picture was exhibited in every window, and no medal- 
lions had such a ready sale as those which bore the 
head of Mr. Fox. The artists alone felt some dis- 
satisfaction, as he refused to sit for his portrait. It is 
said that % celebrated statuary sent his respects to Mr. 
Fox, and informed him that, being desirous to partake 
of his immortality, he proposed to execute a statue 
of him, and would call the following day, when he 
flattered himself that Mr. Fox would have no objec- 
tion to sit half an hour in his shirt, while he took the 
exact contour of his body. 

Among the fashionables of Paris Avho were particu- . 
larly attentive to Mr. Fox, was Madame Recamier. 
She called for him one day in her carriage, but Mr. 
Fox hesitated to accompany her. " Come," said the 
lady, " I must keep my promise, and show you on 
the promenade. The good people of Paris must al- 
ways have a spectacle. Before you came, I was the 
fashion ; it is a point of honour therefore that I should 
not appear jealous of you. You must attend me, Sir." 
A few days afterwards appeared an ode, in which Mr. 
.Fox and Madame Recamier were transformed into 
Jupiter and Venus. The author, with all the modes- 
ty of a Frenchman, put a copy of this ode into the 
hand of Mr. Fox, and another into that of Madame 
Recamier, whom he was attending to the opera. On 
reading the subject, Mr. Fox appeared confused, but 
his fair companion, smiled—" Let them say what they 
please,'* said she, " as long as Mons,. Recamier pre- 
serves his senses, and laughs at them as I do^'* Of 
this lady Mr. Fox entertained the highest opinion ; 



166 THE LIFE OF 

and observed, that she was the only woman who unit- 
ed the attractions of pleasure to those of modesty. 

During his residence at Paris, Mr. Fox had fre- 
quent interviews with Bonaparte, of whom he form- 
ed a very peculiar opinion. Mr. Burke, speaking of 
the French revolution, asserted that it had not only 
shaken all Europe, but almost every man individual- 
ly ; that it had shaken Mr. Fox till it had shaken his 
heart into the wrong place. Though this might per- 
Ijaps be too severe, the best friends of Mr. Fox will 
not attempt to deny that he had this French bias. 
Mr. Fox said of Bonaparte, that he was a man as 
magnificent in his means as in his ends ; that he pos- 
sessed a most decided character ; that he would pur- 
sue his purpose with more constancy and for a longer 
period than was imagined ; that his views were not 
directed against Great Britain, but that he looked only 
to the continent. His commercial enmity was, he 
asserted, only a temporary measure, and was never 
intended to be acted upon as permanent policy. He 
observed that he had a proud candour, which, in the 
confidence of success in whatever he resolved, scorn- 
ed to conceal his intentions. " I never saw," said he, 
'* so little indirectness in any statesman, as in the 
First Consul. He makes no secret of his designs.'^ 
How far these opinions of Mr. Fox were well founded, 
it is not our purpose to investigate. 

About the middle of November, 1802, Mr. Fox re- 
turned to England. He soon committed his reflec- 
tions on the manners of the French to writing at con- 
siderable length. He was induced to do so by an ob- 
servation of Lord Fitzwilliam, that " the revolution 
had found them a nation of coxcombs, and left them 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 167 

a nation of blackguards ; that manners, the civility of 
man to man, and the chivalrous homage to v^oman, 
which softens and gives a picturesque splendour to 
life, hacf wholly vanished, and a nation of citizens 
had replaced a nation of gentlemen." Mr. Fox, on 
the other hand, maintained that the same gallantry 
still continues to exist, though the foundation is gone, 
and that a distinction of rank, sufficient for the pur- 
pose of social order, still remains. He allowed that 
the revolution had doubtless done much mischief, but 
the ferment had ceased, and the sediment sunk to the 
bottom never to appear again ; and affirmed, that a 
century hence, the French government would exhib- 
it a most interesting spectacle, that of a government 
not founded on feudal principles. 

The period of this his last visit to France, Mr. Fox 
always recollected with satisfaction. He used to say 
that he had learned more of the French character 
during his short tour, than in his former longer ex- 
cursions. He not only saw more, and in different 
points of view, but a possessing greater maturity of 
judgment, he probably formed more solid estimates. 

Scarcely had Mr. Fox returned home, than we 
find him opposing the new administration, who seem- 
ed inclined to renew the contest. On the motion of 
an address to his Majesty on the 23d of November, 
1802, he expressed liis opinion, " that the object of 
security would be best promoted by a small military 
establishment, whet4ier with a view of preserving the 
peace, or of renewing the war. Supposing for a 
moment," added he, " that war was to be renewed, 
gentlemen "would do well to reflect in what manner 
hostilities would be conducted. On this part of the 



168 THE LIFE OF 

subject I will not go into detail ; but suppose that a 
determination were taken to recommence hostilities, 
it is obvious that our means of annoying the enemy- 
would consist simply either in retaking the places 
which by the treaty we have agreed to cede, or in 
retaining those still in our hands. Now, I say dis- 
tinctly, that to violate the treaty of peace for such an 
object as this — and under the present circumstances 
there is no other object which could be obtained— 
would be to place the ministers of this country, and 
the members of the last parliament who approved of 
the treaty, in a situation to excite the ridicule of all 
Europe. The continuance of peace I do contend, 
is infinitely desirable ; I feel its importance in the 
strongest manner. Adverse, however, as I am to 
the contest, I do not mean to assert, that no circum- 
stance may have followed the treaty of Amiens which 
would fully justify ministers for refusing to comply 
with its provisions. I am not ashamed to avow an 
opinion, for which I have been not unfrequently ex- 
posed to ridicule, and now explicitely declare, that 
I consider the preservation of national honour as al- 
most the only legitimatdf cause of war. This doc- 
trine I hold on the plain principle that honour is in- 
separably connected with self-defence. If it can be 
proved to me, that the national honour has been in- 
sulted, or the national dignity disgraced, I will, with- 
out hesitation declare my opinion, which is, that it 
■would be a fair and legitimate cause for recommenc- 
ing hostilities. I must, however, hear a very strong 
case made- out, before I can give my vote for re- 
plunging the country into those disaste rs which a 



i 



CHARLES JAxMSS FOX. W*9 

edamitous contest had produced, and froii^ which we 
have been so recently delivered. 

On the 9th of March, 1803, when the king's mes- 
sage was brought down to the Hou^e, Mr. Fox ex- 
pressed his alacrity to vote for the address, but he, 
at the same time, observed, " that there never was 
a situation in which it would be more imprudent to 
engage the country in an unnecessary war, than at 
that moment ; and never were any ministers more 
guilty than they would be, in recommending or sup- 
porting aline of policy so destructive to the best in- 
terests of the people." 

Notwithstanding this, after the declaration of war, 
when Colonel Patten, on the 3d of June, moved for 
a vote of censure on ministry, Mr Fox did not give 
his support, though he found it impossible to ap- 
prove of all their conduct, partly because it was too 
late, and partly because he did not know that their 
successors might not be more objectionable to him 
than they. 

On the ISthof July, he expressed his concurrence 
in the Additional Force Bill, on which occasion lie 
observed, that he had absented himself for the last 
three weeks, because, having already assigned his 
reasons for not approving of the war, he did not wish 
to oppose those measures, which must, of course, be 
necessary for carrying it on with effect. 

On the 7th of March, 1804, vv^e find Mr. Fox vin- 
dicating the conduct of his brother. General Fox, 
as commander-m-chief in Ireland, and insisting on the 
propriety of an inquiry into the government of that 
country, during the recent insurrection there. On the 
P 



170 THE LIFE OF 

22d of March, he pressed the mmister relative to 
any communications which might have been receiv- 
ed on the subject of the mediation of Russia ; and 
on the 23d of April, he made amotion on the posture 
of national affairs. After a long and able speech, in 
v/hich he hinted at the impolicy of the war, while he 
at the same time openly accused the ministers of 
incapacity, Mr. Fox concluded by movii^, " that it 
be referred to a committee to revise the several bills 
which have passed the House during the last and 
present session of parliament, for the defence of the 
country, and to consider of such farther measures 
as may be necessary to render th-e said defence 
more complete and permanent." On this occasion 
he was seconded by Mr. Pitt, who professed his cor- 
dial and zealous support of the measure. On the 
division which followed an animated debate, these 
two rivals found themselves in a formidable mino- 
rity, of 2 34 against 256. 

s Mr. Addington being incapable of holding any 
longer the reins of administration, they were again 
placed in the hands of Mr. Pitt. It was now ima- 
gined by many, that the critical state of public af- 
fairs, and the common safety of the empire would 
have produced a coalition between the minister and 
his former adversary, who had meanwhile effected 
an union between his own and the Grenville party. 
Lord Grenville declared that he was resolved to 
accept no official situation unless Mr. Fox were 'in- 
cluded in the new arrangement. Mr. Pitt expressed 
his readiness to comply, and it is supposed that no- 
thing but the invincible dislike of Mr Fox manifest- 
ed by his Majesty, prevented the execution of the 



CHARLES JAMES lOX. 171 

plan. Mr. Fox, however, is said to have spoken of 
Mr. Pitt's conduct in this transaction, with a liveli- 
ness of indignation unusual to him. At the same 
time he did justice to his rival, and acknowledged 
that he was almost the only man who had ever sub- 
dued such great talents under- such complete sub- 
jection to official formality. 

On Mr. Pitt's return to power, the war was im- 
mediately extended to Spain, which had hitherto 
been permitted to enjoy all the benefits of an insidu- 
ous neutrality. This measure was strongly censur- 
ed Dy Mr. box, who, in the adjourned debate on the 
subject, February 12th, 1805, entered at large into 
a discussion of the negociation with the court of 
Madrid, in the course of which he maintained that a 
characteristic duplicity appeared the most conspic- 
uous feature in the whole of the transaction. — 
He afterwards asserted that the detention of the 
Spanish frigates was a measure of war and not of 
precaution ; insisted on the excellence of the old 
practice of commencing hostilities by a declaration, 
and concluded with stating his sincere conviction that 
rninisters had acted rashly and unjustly in their con- 
duct towards Spain. 

In the discussion on the 8th of April, relative to 
Lord Melville's alleged malversation, while Trea- 
surer of the Navy, Mr. Fox spoke with his accus- 
tomed energy. He began with observing, " that 
he could not reconcile it to his mind to be silent on 
such an occasion, lest he should be suspected of de- 
clining to mark with the strongest reprobation guilt of 
a nature so glaring, that any man who gave it the 
sanction of his vote, or attempted to protect it from 



172 THE LITE or 

punishment, must be viewed in the light of an ac- 
complice, or one at least disposed to become the ac- 
complice of similar transactions.'* 

" Before he would proceed to the merits of the 
charges under consideration, he thought it proper 
to notice the arguments of the gentl(?men upon the 
other side ; not because he considered these argu- 
ments possessed of any intrinsic force ; but lest, 
from the authority of the persons from whom they 
proceeded, they might have the effect of leading 
the House to a decision, which, if it should corres- 
pond with the wishes of those by whom such argu« 
ments were used, must destroy its character with 
the country and with all Europe. The first gentle- 
man with whom he would begin was the last who 
spoke, (the Master of the Rolls) That learned 
gentleman directed the whole of his observations 
to show that the House should go into a committee, 
in order to ascertain whether the breach of the act 
of parliament, not of which Lord Melville stood 
charged, but of which he confessed himself guilty, 
proceeded from corrupt motives. If corruption con- 
sisted merely in a man putting money into his own 
pocket, according to the vulgar conception, perhaps 
some of the deductions of the learned gentleman 
would be right. But he would contend that nothing 
could be more corrupt, in his opinion, than to per- 
mit a man's own agent to convert the money of 
others to his own private emolument. This was the 
amount of Lord Melville's confession ; and although 
it might be possible, from a further examination, to 
prove the nobl:^ Lord more guilty, it did appear to 
him utterly impos;^ible to prove him less so. For 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 173 

the most conclusive evidence of the noble lord's 
corruption, he would only refer to the declaration 
of the noble lord, who stated, that " although he 
knew his agent Trotter was applying the public mo- 
ney to other purposes, than that for which it was 
legally intended) he did not prohibit him from 
doing so." What was that, he would ask, but com- 
plete corruption, even taking the case simplicter ? 
but combining it with other circumstances, could 
any man entertain a doubt upon the subject of his 
guilt ? What greater aggravation of his delinquency 
in tolerating the breach of his own act of parlia- 
ment could be imagined, than allowing his agent 
to misapply the public money, for the safe custody 
of which that act was intended? But it is preten- 
ded that no loss had accrued to the public from this 
malversation ; and a very singular argument was 
advanced that as there was no loss there was no 
risk. Now (said Mr. Fox) it happened in certain 
parts of my life, which I do not quote with a view 
to recommend my example to others, that I was in 
the habits of engaging in speculations, which are 
commonly called gaming. If a man should, in 
that kind of speculation, win a lari;e sum of money, 
I am sure that an argument would not thence arise 
that he had made no risk. I rather think the natu- 
ral inference would be, that his risk was consider- 
able. Probably, however, in this case, Lord Mel- 
ville did not care that Mr. Trotter should lose 
any money. Mr. Trotter was the confidential agent 
of Lord Melville, and Lord Melville was the confi- 
dential agent of the state. Therefore, in this sort of 
speculation in which Trotter engaged, Lord Mel-' 
P2 



174 THE LII-E Of 

ville could guard against much risk. If two m6n 
play cards together, and a third person stands be- 
hind one of them and throws hints to tJie other, he 
that receives the hints is tolerably sure of winning. 
Just so ia this business : Lord Melville knew when 
the navy bills were likely to be funded, and Mr. 
Trotter could act upon the information he might 
receive. Will any one say then, that from such 
acting upon such information, no loss would accrue 
to the public ! On the contrary, I maintain, that 
the public would suffer a loss of one per cent, upon 
the discount of such bills. But then, the learned 
gentleman desired the House to go into an inquiry, 
in order to obtain farther evidence. — He would ap- 
peal to the judgment of the House, whether any 
farther evidence could .be necessary to enable it to 
come to a decided opinion upon the breach of law, 
which the noble lord himself confessed ? — That 
opinion the House was called on to declare. — Tho 
public had a right to demand it from them. It was 
said, ' that the House ought not to think of acting 
judicially, of inflicting punishment without the full- 
est examination into the merits of the accusation, 
and affording the accused the fullest opportunity of 
vindicating himself. And so far as the confession of 
Lord Melville w^ent, he had been already tried. — 
He would, however, defy those gentlemen who rest- 
ed their objection so very much upon the question 
of punishment, to show that it was at all times in 
the power of that House to inflict any punishment 
on such delinquents as Lord Melville and Mr. 
Trotter. But if the House should determine on 
prosecution in any way with a view to punishment ; 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 175 

whether by directing- the attorney-g-eneral to prose- 
cute, whether by moving an impeachment, or pre- 
paring a bill of pains and penalties, which perhaps 
would be a more p'roper mode of proceeding, he 
•would maintain that the confession of the party accu- 
sed would be evidence to proceed upon, and that the 
House was now called upon to act, as it must in every 
similar case, as a grand jury, to pronounce upon the 
guilt of the accused. It v/as strange to hear it as- 
serted that the accused was not guilty, because no 
loss accrued from the scandalous transaction. To 
those to whom the loss of honour was nothing, per- 
haps it might be said that no loss had arisen. But 
what was the loss of honour to that government 
which, after such a palpable instance of delinquency, 
should preserve its connexion with the delinquent ? 
And what is the loss of character and honour to that 
house, should it attempt by its vote to screen such a 
delinquent ? Infinitely more than any sum of money 
could possibly amount to. Whatever the learned 
gentleman, to whom he had already adverted might 
assert, he could not see that any farther inquiry could 
be necessary to enable the house to decide that a great 
public ofiicer, who allowed his servants to make illi- 
cit profit from the public money, in the teeth of an 
act of parliament, was guilty of a most serious offence. 
The guilt consisted in the violation of the law, and it 
never could be pretended that any such violation could 
be innocent. There were, indeed, many cases in 
which the most severe punishments attached to of- 
fences to which the charge of moral turpitude did 
not apply, but whicii were criminal in consequence 
of the precept of the law. Such were many of the 



176 THE LIFE OF 

offences against our revenue laws. Not tw© years 
ago an act was passed declaring a man guilty of felo- 
ny, without benefit of clergy, if paper of a certain sort 
should be found in his possession, this sort of paper 
being used for the manufacture of bank-notes. Now 
the reason of this statute was this, that a man could 
not be presumed to have such paper in his possession 
but with a criminal intention. Therefore the breach 
of the act wasproof against him. And the act of the 
25th of the king, which applied to the case under con- 
sideration, was drawn up upon a similar principle, and 
the breach of it was to be deemed the proof of the 
criminal intention. Upon this proof, which arose 
out of the reasonof the law, he had no hesitation to 
pronounce the noble lord guilty. The noble lord, it 
would be recollected, retained the office of treasurer 
for nine years after he had been appointed to that of 
secretary of state. [This was denied by the Chancellor 
of the Exchequer across the table.] No matter, re- 
sumed Mr. Fox, as to tlie precise time. The noble 
lord retained the office for several years ; and when 
in that House allusion was made to the circumstance 
of his holding the two offices, the answer from the 
other side of the House was, that although he held" 
those offices, he only received the salary of secre- 
tary of state, and nothing from that of treasurer of 
the navy. Ay, that is, nothing of the legal salary. 
Did not this justify something more than suspicion ? 
Why shoidd the noble lord so fondly cling to this 
office of his friend, Mr. Trotter? There were many 
other persons among even his own relations who 
would have been glad to occupy this situation. But 
no, Lord Melville seemed particularly attached to it ; 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 177 

and would common sense, in considering a thing of 
this kind, make no inference from that attachment. 
Another objection arose against the proposed com- 
mittee, from this consideration, that he did not see 
that any of the difficulties whicih some gentlemen 
complained of, could be removed—that any of the 
obscure accounts could be explained. Those accounts 
were indeed of such a nature, that the parties them- 
selves could not understand them, and how then 
could it be possible for a committee of that House to 
make any thing of them ? 

" It had been said that the house should proceed 
with the utmost deliberation in deciding upon cha- 
racter. But upon whose character were they to 
decide on this occasion ? Not certainly upon that of 
Lord Melville, for his character was entirely gone, 
but upon the character of the house and government, 
which must depend upon ;the vote of this night. A$ 
to the character of Lord Melville, it was so com.plete- 
iy destroyed in public estimation for ever, that he 
would venture to say, that were the vote of the house 
unanimous in his favour, it would not have the 
slightest effect in wiping away the stigma that was 
miiversally affixed to his name. What then must 
the world think of retaining such a m?ai at the head 
of the glory of the country? It was dreadful to re- 
flect that the most honourable claims, honourable 
professions, should be placed at the disposal of a man 
with whose name dishonour was inseparably associ- 
ated, who had confessed himself guilty of an act of 
corrupt illegality. The honourable gentlemc^n took 
notice of an ingenious and forcible argument advan- 
ced by a noble friend behind him (Lord Henry Petty), 



178 THE LIFE OF 

whose speech he considered, and he was sure the 
house felt it to be, the best that had been delivered in 
the course of the debate. He recollected, that when 
the right honourable gentleman on the other side 
(Mr. Pitt) made his entree in that house, his first 
essay was in favour of reform and against corruption* 
With what pleasure did the house listen to him upon 
that occasioii ! — but how soon was the promise of 
his early years abandoned !— 

" ^antwin onutatus ah illoP 

Let the speech which the right honourable gentle- 
man delivered on that occasion be contrasted with 
that of this evening, and the change would be glar- 
ing ! There was something also in the dying legacy 
of Trotter to the navy office, that was particularly 
deserving of remark. It amounted to this, that Trot- 
ter said to his successors, " Now, as I am leaving 
the paymaster's office, I shall provide that not one 
of you shall ever make a shilling by the same means 
that I have done." But this he left as a bequest 
after the death of his own power. He did not even 
offer it while living. An honourable gentleman 
had expressed a hope that some measure would be 
adopted to prevent the recurrence of such a practice 
as the report on the table disclosed. But no mea- 
sure in the shape of an act of parliament could be 
efficient, if this precedent were to be established, 
that an act of parliament was to be violated with 
impunity. For his part, when he read over the 
evidence, he was rather filled with disgust, than 
indignation^ He was ashamed of having any con- 
nexion, even hostilely, with a person who had so 
degraded himself. Indeed it made him ashamed of 



6HARLES JAMES FOX. 179 

being of the same class. What does the evidence 
exhibit ? A man of such power and elevated situa- 
tion as the noble lord shriuking from answering the 
questions put to him, on the ground that he was 
not to criminate himself; and again saying, when 
the question was repeated, that he did not recol- 
lect how far he might have benefited by Mr. Trot- 
ter's money transactions. — Recollect ! Does a man 
apply to his recollection on such an occasion and re- 
specting such circumstances ? A man, when asked 
whether he had ever been in company with John 
Noakes, for example, may very well say, " To the 
best of my recollection I never have." But were it 
inquired whether he had not been kicked out of 
company by the same person, for attempting to pick 
his pocket, what would be thought of him if his an- 
swer should be " To the best of my recollection 
I never was." Besides, the noble lord never thought 
of attempting any explanation of his evidence till 
the report had been nearly two months before the 
house. He knew nothing of it till it was printed. 
—What! the report was so long before the house, 
of which the noble lord is a member, and, though 
it so nearly concerned himself, he never had the 
curiosity to look into it until it was printed. Who 
can believe it ? Or did the noble lord only begin 
to be alarmed when he found the effect which the 
printed report had made on the public ? Then he 
writes a letter, which he had much better have 
left unwritten. It was a vain attempt to do away 
the damnation. He still remains involved by Mr. 
Trotter's evidence. Was it not wrong in Mr. 
Trotter thus to commit his principal ^ Yet no anger 



l80 TfrE LIFE dF 

is betrayed against him— no indignation manifested 
by the noble lord at the slur thus cast upon his 
character. But hotv could he blame Mr. Trotter ? 
He must have known the whole transaction. Mr. 
Fox, after again adverting to the situation to which 
the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) was re- 
duced by his noble friend, could not help asking 
how it came to pass that, although notice had been 
given a fortnight ago of the motion brought forward 
this night by his honourable friend, yet the right 
honourable gentleman never then alluded once to 
the letter he was afterwards to produce ; nor, when 
he produced it, did he make any mention of the 
necessity of a farther inquiry. How did this hap- 
pen ? If he was to believe the reports of the day, 
the idea was suggested to him from a quarter which 
he did not chuse to disoblige ; though that quarter 
was not generally supposed to be in possession of 
power, From whatever intimation the measure 
arose, no good could be expected from a committee 
of inquiry. When it was known and seen how low 
was sunk the man, who holds so splendid a situa- 
tion in the state, what would be thought of the go- 
vernment ? In what light could it be beheld, either 
abroad or at home ? Th^ bravest generals, the most 
gallant admirals, the ablest statesmen, have ab- 
stained from the discharge of office while under an 
accusation, though conscious of their innocence, 
and certain to come forth more spotless than before. 
Could the noble lord continue the administration of 
his liigh department while his character was thus 
exposed ? The house, no doubt, would feel the ne- 
cessity of speedily deciding on that point, and of 



CHARLES JAMES rOX. 181 

showing, that to innocence they would aiford pro- 
tection, in defiance of influence or power. With 
respect to the noble lord's offer to swear positively 
that he did not profit from the misappropriation of 
the public money, it was remarkable, that this offer 
was confined to the period in which Mr. Andrew 
Douglas, who was now dead, was paymaster of the 
navy, but did not at all extend to the paymastership 
of Mr. Trotter. What was the conclusion then to be 
drawn from this ? Why, that he was ready to make 
oath as to the paymastership of Douglas, because he 
was dead ; but did not think proper to swear as to 
Trotter, because he was alive. The honourable 
gentleman made an appeal to the pride and feelings 
of the house, and particularly to that of Mr. Pitt, 
advising him not to risk the little of reputation that 
remained to him upon this occasion — not to stake 
this card for his last. He concluded with expres- 
sing a hope, that the facts exposed in the Tenth and 
Eleventh Reports would provoke an inquiry into, and 
a reform of, the several departments of the public 
expenditure . He trusted that there were men around 
him who would promote an investigation so desirable 
for the cawse of justice and the interests of the coun^ 
try.*' 

On the division of the house it appeared that the 
numbers on each side were even : 

Ayes 216— Noes 216. 

The speaker gave the casting vote, which made 
217 for the resolutions proposed by Mr. Whitbread, 
censuring the conduct of Lord Melville. 
Q 



182 THE LIFE OF 

After these resolutions had been carried. Mr. 
Pitt moved that the House should adjourn to the 
10th, on which Mr. Fox submitted to the good sense 
of the house, whether in so critical a moment they 
should adjourn over a single day. " They would re- 
collect," said he, " that the country was now in the 
hands of a disgraced administration." 

When the consideration of this business was re- 
sumed on the 10th, Mr. Whitbread moved that an 
humble address should be presented to his Majesty, 
praying that he would be graciously pleased to dis- 
miss Lord Melville from all offices held by him 
during pleasure, and also from his councils and 
presence for ever. The arguments of Mr. Whit- 
bread were opposed by Mr. Canning, (then trea- 
surer of the navy) who concluded his speech with a 
panegyric on Lord Melville. Several gentlemen 
had expressed their sentiments, when Mr. Fox rose 
and declared that Mr. Canning had deliverd him- 
self in a manner so extraordinary and injudicious, 
that it was scarcely worth while to take notice of his 
observations. After animadverting on the conduct 
of Mr. Canning with respect to Mr. Trotter, he then 
continued : " The next feature in the very extraor- 
dinary speech of the right honourable gentleman, 
was the argument he used for the lenient application 
of our resolutions against Lord Melville, and the cir- 
cumstances on which this lenity is to be founded. 
Perhaps, in what I am now about to say, the right 
honourable gentleman may think me bitter and ran- 
corous ; but in spite of this, I feel myself called on to 
say, that I shall never sit in this House, and patiently 
hear these extravagant panegyrics on Lord Melville*s 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 183 

public conduct. I am at a loss where to find v/hat are 
the circumstances which are to incline us so power- 
fully to mercy. , What particular claims does he pos- 
sess to induce the House to pass over his aggravated 
offence with a comparatively trifling punishment? 
Is this motive to lenity to be found in the eagerness 
which his lordship has ever shown to heap up emolu- 
ments, and to systematize corruption ? Is it in the 
gift of the chamberiainship of Fife granted to his 
wife, with arrears to a vast amount, procured under 
false pretences ? Is it in procuring a year ago fifteen 
hundred a year in addition, not, sir, to the salary of 
first lord of the admiralty, for I know that is very in-' 
adequately paid, but in addition to his salary as lord 
privy seal for Scotland ; But, the right honourable 
gentleman lays great stress on his discovering no 
political or party partialities in the appointment of 
officers, either for the naval or military service. I 
deny, that there is the least merit in this supposed im- 
partiality. It is what every minister, whoever he be, 
is obliged to preserve an appearance of, as an open 
dereliction of it would be attended with instant dis- 
grace. Indeed, party distinctions were almost al- 
ways^from necessity, overlooked. But, I cannot hear 
the right honourable gentleman stating that the no- 
ble lord was free from party violence, without re- 
minding the House of one or two circumstances, 
which demonstrate the existence of party spirit in 
all its most intolerant and disgusting features. I 
shall mention one, sir, which fell within my own know- 
ledge, and which will fully illustrate my position. At 
a period of the late war, when the danger of invasion 
was supposed to be at the height, when offers of vol- 



184 THE LIFE OF 

luntary service were eagerly accepted, a numerous 
and loyal body of men in Tavistock made a tender of 
their services. The tender vi^as refused by this self 
same moderate Lord Melville, on the sole ground, 
for no other could be alleged, that-the corps, when 
raised, was to be commanded by the late Duke of 
Bedford. It may perhaps be imagined, that my feel- 
ings at the recollection of the deceased are so strong 
as to hurry me into some degree of exaggeration j 
but I solemnly protest that I am stating the matter 
precisely as it happened. And yet, we are to hear of 
Lord Melville's moderation and perfect freedom fromi 
all party spirit. There is another circumstance,which 
also pretty strongly illustrates his lordship's forbear- 
ance and superiority to any of the workings of the 
angry passions. It is well known that the Dean of 
the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh is generally 
the most eminent person in the profession, and that 
it is seldom customary to interfere with him from 
any political considerations. Yet this mild and mode- 
i-ate Lord Melville actually did interfere, and by em- 
ploying all the influence of government against the 
Hon. Henry Erskine, a gentleman confessedly the 
most eminent at the Scotch bar, he was actually dis- 
possessed of a situation which he had many years 
held with the greatest honour and credit. So much, 
sir, for the boasted liberality of the noble lord, which 
we aie called on to look to for a motive to influence 
our decision. As to the favour bestowed on two no- 
ble lords, on which the right honourable gentleman 
(Mr. Cunning) rested so much stress, I entirely agree 
witii my honourable friend near me (Mr. Grey), in 
every one of his observations. The right honourable 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 185 

gentleman says, that my tM-o honourable Mends 
must possess Spartan virtue to be able to follow that 
line of accusation against the noble lord which they 
had pursued. If extraordinary exertions in virtue 
were required, I do not know any men in whom they 
would be more readily found than in my honourable 
friends. But I must beg leave to say, that they are 
under no obligations to the. noble lord for the defence 
he made of those relations, to whom they were na- 
turally so strongly attached. Sir Charles Grey and 
Sir John Jervis were selected for a very difficult ser- 
vice in the West Indies, which they performed with 
gallantry. Some misunderstanding, however, aris- 
ing, they returned, and a charge was preferred against 
them in this House. If I recollect right, there wci e 
three divisions on the subject, when the minority were 
successively thirteen, fourteen, and seventeen, and 
this was the formidable phalanx which the noble lord 
had so much merit in combating. I take it for grant- 
ed, that he believed the charge to be false ; and if he 
did believe it to be unfounded, what merit had he in 
defending the gallant officers ? It was no more than 
indispensable duty to those whom he had employed 
on a difficult service, which they executed M'itli 
promptitude, vigour, and success. If this be nitiril, 
it is impossible to say, how far the line of obligation 
may be extended. An honourable gentleman vinder 
the gallery (Mr. S. Thornton), has given a curious 
reason for voting for the resolutions on Mooday 
night, (the 8th) on which it is impossible for me not 
to make a few observations. He says, ihtit he 
voted for the motion, conceiving the noble lord 
guilty of a certain degree of negligence and inat- 
Q 2 



186 \ THE LIFE or 

tention. I confess I am utterly astonished at sueh 
a declaration, after attending to the language of 
our resolution, that the noble lord had been guilty 
of a gross violation of an act of parliannent, and a 
high breach of duty. Surely, this heavy charge is 
not to be confounded with inattention and negli- 
gence. How the honorable member could have 
misunderstood them, is to me incomprehensible, as 
they were particularly objected to on the other side 
of the House. With respect to the resolutions, it 
appears to me that they complete the criminal part 
of the charge against the noble lord, and I am not 
at present for pressing any farther proceedings in 
that way. If the attorney-general is to proceed 
against him for refunding the money derived from 
the profits of money misapplied, this will be by 
civil and not by criminal action ; for recovery of 
money is always ranked among the civil actions. 
The same observation will apply to any action for 
recovering grants obtained under false pretences. — 
I have the less objection to press the motion in the 
mean time, on the grounds of the pledge which the 
right honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) has this night 
so distinctly given to the House. I find, after a 
careful examination, that during his Majesty's long 
reign, now a period of nearly forty-five years, only 
the Duke of Norfolk and myself have been dis- 
missed his Majesty's councils : and I assure you, 
sir, we want no such person as the noble lord to be 
our associate. I had almost forgotten Mr. Grat- 
tan, who had the like fortune in Ireland- None of 
us could, however, be proud of any connexion 
with such a man as Lord Melville has shown him- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 187 

self to be throughout his whole career of life. I 
have said, I would not now press the motion to a 
discussion, but I should be grieved indeed to see 
the resolutions passed without being> followed by 
some lasting result. Such a work as that which 
we on Monday accomplished, must not be suffered 
to pass away unimproved. From one end of- the 
empire to the other the people will rejoice in the 
hope that a better system is about to be adopted, 
and we must not let their just expectations be dis- 
appointed. It is necessary for us, by making Lord 
Melville a signal mark of the vengeance of this 
House, to show the country that we are indeed 
their representatives — that we are determined equal- 
ly to Avatch over their property and their liberties. 
The public have received our work with the purest 
gratitude ; but is no part of this great work to be- 
long to the government ? Is his Majesty to have no 
opportunity of manifesting his paternal interest in 
the subject ? In what situation do we leave our so- 
vereign ? The people applaud us in the warmest 
terms. They say the House of Commons have taken 
up our cause against the whole host of contractors 
and peculators. The House of Lords may do the 
same ;- and shall not our beneficent sovereign have 
^n opportuity of expressing the warm interest he 
takes in every plan of alleviating the burdens, and 
improving the condition of the people ? I admire 
this House as the corner stone of the constitution—- 
as the source of all reforms and improvements — as 
the balance by which the constitution is kept in pu- 
rity and vigour. But I do not vash to exclude the 
monarchy from its proper share in everybeneficent 



188 THE LIFE OF 

work. I think our resolutions ought to be presented 
to the throne. Like us his Majesty has read the 
report, but he has not hitherto had an opportunity 
of expressing his feelings on the subject. I strongly 
impress this subject on the minds of ministers. 
They are bound to carry the resolutions to the 
throne. They owe it as a sacred duty to the king 
whom they serve.'* After a few more observations, 
Mr. Fox agreed to withdraw the motion, on an un- 
derstanding that the whole matter should afterwards 
be fully investigated. 

Though no one will attempt to deny that It is the 
duty of every man to bring public delinquents to 
punishment, yet many considered Mr. Fox's extra- 
ordinary zeal on this occasion as rather intemperate 
and ill-judged. Persons were not wanting to remind 
him that by peculations infinitely more culpable than 
those of which Lord Melville was accused, his own 
father. Lord Holland, had amassed princely wealth, 
and founded the fortunes of his family, and that 
consequently whatever he urged ir. reprehension of 
Lord Melville, was an indirect but equally severe 
censure on the conduct of his parent. This censure 
would undoubtedly have had more weight, and have 
come with a better grace, from the mouth of a man, 
who had not only clean hands himself, but whose 
predecessors had not disgraced themselves with 
practices similar to those which were the subject of 
such pointed reprobation. 

On the 12th of May, Mr. Fox introduced the 
subject of the petition of the Catholics of Ireland, 
which had before been presented by him, and in a 
long and elaborate speech pointed out to the House 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 189 

the propriety of going into a committee, with a view 
of redressing- the grievances of which they com- 
plained. Though the petition was thrown out by a 
great majority, yet a large portion of the empire 
was conciliated by the consideration that it was not 
destitute of powerful protection. 

During the summer of 1805, Mr. Pitt's pergonal 
credit had contributed towaixls a coalition between 
Russia and Austria, for the purpose of checking the 
domineering influence of France, and vindicating 
the violated liberdes of Europe. After a campaign, 
unexampled in the annals of warfare, the battle of 
Austerlitz was lost, the treaty of Fresburg was sign- 
ed, and on the 23d of January, 1806, Mr. Pitt, partly 
the victim ofhereditary disease, partly broken-heart- 
ed for the misfortunes of Europe, breathed forth his 
spirit, while the words — " Oh ! my country 1" died 
away in his expiring sigh. 

On the death of Mr. Pitt the conduct of Mr. Fox 
was thought deficient in generosity. When tlie mo- 
tion was made for public funeral honors to that dis- 
tinguished statesman, he certainly bore testimony to 
the virtues of Mr. Pitt, to his exalted patriotism, 
to his unsullied purity and integrity. He applauded 
his finance, reprobated his wars, voted against a pub- 
lic funeral and for the payment of iiis debts. 

The colleagues of Mr. Pitt found it impossible 
to maintain themselves in office with a sufficient 
strength of public approbation. They advised the 
King to commit his affairs into tlie hands of Lord 
Grenviile and his frienc's, and resigned their situa- 
tions. Lord Grenviile remained firm to his alliance, 
and his ISIajesty signified his willingness that Mr. 



100 THE LIFE OF 

Fox and his friends should be comprehended in the 
new arrangement. Mr. Fox, by his own election, 
was appomted Secretary of State for Foreign Af- 
fairs, and a provision was made for the principal of 
those gentlemen who had so long acted in conjunc- 
tion with him. 

After an opposition of twenty-two years, Mr. Fox 
resumed the situation he had surrendered in 17.83. 
No sooner had he obtained the seals, than his mind 
reverted to what may be considered as the grand ob- 
ject of his life. He had from the beginning conceiv- 
ed that the war was ill-timed, and he determined, if 
possible, to put an honourable termination to it. As 
he had never used any intemperate language, or 
displayed any personal antipathy, the enemy could of 
course have no objection to such a mediator ; a nego- 
ciation was commenced, but he lived not to see the 
accomplisliment of his wislies. 

Though Mr.Fox manifested such an ardent love of 
peace, still he shewed a disposition that he would not 
submit to insult. Soon after he came into office the 
conduct of the King of Prussia excited general indig- 
nation. Not content with seizing Hanover, and 
claiming the sovereignty of that country, he excluded 
the British commerce not only from his own domi- 
nions, but also from every port which he could terrify 
or influence. The new minister published a spirited 
declaration, and at the same time adopted measures 
for blockading the Prussian ports, and intercepting 
their trade. 

When the King's message on this subject was 
taken into consideration on the 2 3d of April, Mr. Fox 
rose, and made an impressive speech, in which li 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 191 

appeared, for the first time, in the character of an ad- 
vocate for war : — 

" I am sure," said he, " the House will believe me, 
when I state the extreme unwillingness on the part 
of his Majesty to involve this country in war on ac- 
count of the electorate of Hanover; but at the same 
time I am certain that this House, and the country, 
must have seen, with feelings of the most marked in- 
dignation, the aggression on the pan of Prussia, and 
will readily acknowledge the propriety of adopting 
the most vigorous measures, where the honour of the 
Sovereign and of the country is so nearly concerned. 
This feeling of indignation I trust will be more strong- 
ly felt, when it is recollected how subservient Prussia 
has been, notwithstanding her interests and engage- 
ments to the contrary, to the policy and views of 
France in her unjust and unwarraiited encroachments. 
We shall be less scrupulous in this case to adopt the 
most vigorous and most determined measures, when 
we consider that the conduct of Prussia is not so much 
the result of her own inclinations, as the consequen- 
ces of the domineering power of France, the dictates 
of which she has hitherto followed too implicitly, till 
it has become dangerous, and almost impossible for 
her to resist the mandates and menacesof that over- 
grown povvcr. The papers his Majesty has been 
pleased to direct to be laid before the House on the 
subject are but few ; but they are quite sufficient to 
show the injustice of the aggression that has been 
made on Hanover on the part of Prussia, and hoir 
much Prussia in this case has acted under the influ- 
ence and controul of France. — Had the object been 
to show the wretched and mistaken policy of the court 



192 THE LIFE Oi 

of Prussia during the whole of this contest, other pa- 
pers, besides those ahxady produced, might have 
been exhibited for the conviction and satisfaction of 
the House : but though this, in its full extent, was 
not the object of his Majesty's message, it will not be 
improper to take a view of tho conduct of that power 
anterior to her occupation of Hanover. 

" On a review o£ her vi^hole conduct, I am ready 
to declare, and I am persuaded that every man 
who hears me will feel the same conviction, that 
the conduct of that court has been the most unpre- 
cedented — unprecedented in the worst of govern- 
ments, and in the worst of times. The origin of this 
proceeding, is to be traced to the convention con- 
cKided at Vienna, on the 15th of December, be- 
tween Count Haugwitz and the French Emperor ; 
but when it is considered what was the situation of 
Prussia at the time its sovereign concluded that 
treaty with France, it must be recollected that 
its means of negociation were still greater than what 
it demised from its own resources or its own arniies. 
The armies of Prussia were undoubtedly nun^erous 
and respectable, but was it on them alone that the 
King of Prussia relied when he was negociating with 
France ? Certainly it was not. He had a strong ad- 
ditional support, which gave weight to his negocia- 
tions. The Emperor of Russia, after he had left 
Austeriitz, gave the whole direction of the Russian 
troops that remained in (^ermany to the command of 
the King of Prussia. This country too had promised 
him a powerful tissistance by pecuniary supplies^ if 
he snould he driven to a vv:r with France. Thes« I 
were the means he possessed of giving weight to his 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 193 

negociations ; and how did he apply those means ? 
Why> to seize a part of the territories of one of 
those powers which had been supporting him in that 
rank and situation which enabled him to conclude his 
treaty. 

" After this treaty was signed, a considerable diffi- 
culty remained in the execution of it. This difficul- 
ty proceeded in a great measure from the just scru- 
ples of the King of Prussia, who perceived that it 
would be very hard to prevail upon his Britannic Ma- 
jesty to ratify such a treaty, and who, therefore, felt 
that his title would be so bad as to make the acquisition 
of Hanover, under these circamstances, a poor equi- 
valent for those provinces that he was obliged to give 
up to France. He felt, besides, that upon no princi- 
ple of justice could he pretend to take it on other 
terms from those which France herself had held it 
on, and therefore, at first, he did not pretend to take 
Hanover absolutely, but with the power of restoring 
it. France, in the mean time, pressed for the ces- 
sion of Anspach and*Bayreuth. What then did the 
King of Prussia do ? Certainly he could not expect 
that the French government would be able to nego- 
ciate between him and his Britannic Majesty, that 
he should be allowed to retain Hanover, and therefore 
he finally resolved to seize it without the consent of 
his Majesty, and under the pretence of an equivalent 
for Anspach and Bayreuth, and those provinces which 
were ceded to France. 

" It cannot then be said that this treaty, and 

the proceedings which followed it, were altogether 

the effect of fear, for what was the necessity under 

Which his Prussian Majesty was placed ? Was it 

R 



194 ^HE LIFE OF 

merely the necessity of ceding Anspach and Bay- 
reuth ? This might have been a considerable mis- 
fortune, yet it was one which might be justified by 
necessity. But the sort of necessity claimed by the 
King of Prussia is different. He says, * because I 
have lost Anspach and Bayreuth, I therefore feel 
myself under the necessity of seizing the dominions 
of some third power' — not only of a third power, 
but of one that, from all times, and by every circum- 
stance, he was bound to respect. This is the sort of 
necessity claimed by the Prussian court, and it is this 
which makes the case of Prussia much worse than 
that of any other nation in Europe. As for Spain, 
(I do not wish to revive the differences of opinion 
with respect to the Spanish war), but Spain, I say, 
would comply no farther with the wishes of our ene- 
mies, than by giving a sum of money. Holland and 
other powers have been, from terror, obliged to make 
cessions of territory to France, but no other power 
has been compelled by terror to commit robberies 
or spoliations on its neighbours. It is in this that 
the case of Prussia stands distinguished from that 
of all other nations. We cannot help looking, with 
some degree of pity and contempt, on a power that 
can allege that it is reduced to such a necessity. 
It would be in itself a considerable humiliation or 
degradation to Prussia, to be obliged to give up those 
provinces to which it was so much attached, and 
which had been called ' The Cradle of the House of 
Brandenburgh.' The degradation of this cession 
was still much increased by the conduct of the peo- 
ple of Anspach, who in treated their sovereign not to 
abandon them. Instead of lessening the ignominy 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 195 

of the cession, it was a great increase of dishonour to 
sell a brave and loyal people for what was called 
an equivalent : it was an union of every thing that 
was contemptible in servility with every thing that 
was odious in rapacity. 

" On the 26th of January an official letter was 
written from Baron Hardenberg to Mr. Jackson, 
expressly stating it to be the intention of his Prus- 
sian Majesty to take possession of Hanover only 
until the conclusion of peace between England and 
France. In the answer to that letter, his Majesty 
expresses his firm reliance on the declaration of his 
Prussian Majesty, but wishes the terms to be more 
explicit. The language that Prussia held at that 
time to our court, was the same she had then held 
to Russia, and every other court with which she 
was connected by the relations of friendship. Soon 
after this, the convention with France appeared, and 
then the court of Prussia wished to represent the 
measures taken with regard to Hanover as in a 
manner dictated by France. They wciuld have it 
supposed, that it was rather an object of French than 
of Prussian ambition, that they should be possessed 
of Hanover. At first they endeavoured to represent 
to the government of this country, that it was more 
for our interest that Hanover should be occupied by 
Prussian than by French troops, and their argument 
was this— ^ If we have it, the ports may be stiil 
open to your commerce, or at least your manufac- 
tures may have a passage through our territory.' 
This hope was, however, now entirely cut off, and 
M. D. Schulenberg, in his manifesto, professes to 
take the country as a present from France, whigh 



196 THE LIFE OF 

she had won and held by the right of conquest. No 
example could be found in all the histories of war, 
and no mention had ever been made by the writers 
on the law of nations, of any power having a right to 
receive as a present a country occupied during a 
war by one of the belligerent powers, but not ceded 
by the other, The House must therefore see to 
what extremity we are now reduced. It would be 
idle to say that a war with Prussia would not be a 
clamity. It is impossible but that it must be a ca- 
lamity to this country to have the number of its 
enemies increased. It is also a painful consideration 
to think that there is no mode of returning this cala- 
mity on the aggressors, which will not in some de- 
gree fall also on neutral and friendly nations, and 
even on ourselves. The House will; however, feel 
that there are occasions in which a manifestation of 
our principles and of our resentment becomes ne- 
cessary, although attended with the calamities inse- 
parable from war. If such an outrage as this were 
passed over, might not Qveiy other nation in Europe, 
and particularly those who have less power to resist 
than Prussia, say to us, * we wish as much as you 
that the power of France could be restrained, but 
you see our situation and the great power of France, 
to which we are exposed. What are we to do ? If 
this question were put to me, I should answer that 
powers in that situation must save themselves as 
^.vell as they can, and even make cessions if they are 
insisted upon. If Prussia should allege that she 
was in that state of comparative weakness that she 
was obliged to cede Anspach and Bayreuth ; how- 
ever his Majesty might lament the necessity, or the 
accession of strength his enemies derived from the 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 197 

acquisition, still he would not have attempted to 
oppose it, or make the slightest remonstrance on the 
occasion. But when that power shall say ' I am not 
only obliged to make cessions, but I am also obliged 
to make war with you,' then the question becomes 
very different, and his Majesty is under the necessity 
of considering it in a very different light. 

" Although I, for one, am not inclined to look very 
favourably on the present situation of this country, 
nor to feel so sanguinely as some other gentlemen, 
yet I think that upon the present occasion we should 
make a signal example of tlie court of Prussia ; and 
whatever principles theorists may lay down about re- 
storing the balance of Europe, I think we shall do 
more to restore the sound and true principles that 
ought to prevail in Europe, by showing the world, in 
this instance, that this country Vvill not abandon them 
herself, nor consent that they shall be departed from 
by other nations in their transactions with her. I 
consider that the power of the country consists in a 
great measure in the known justice of its principles, 
in its moderation and forbearance ; but if the court of 
Berlin choose to depart from the principles of justice, 
and to act hostilely to this country, it must take the 
consequence. I believe it has as yet gained nothing 
by its injustice. Hanover, desolated as it was first by 
French armies, and afterwards in a still greater de- 
gree by Prussian armies, can add little or nothing to 
the revenues of Prussia, neither can it in its present 
situation increase her military strength. The King 
of Prussia has been given a mere nominal pos- 
session of that country ; but so far from being 
strengthened by this present from France, he is only 
Pv 2 



198 THE LliE Of 

the more vanquished and subdued. Austria was for- 
ced, by the fortune of war, to cede many of her pro- 
vinces ; but Austria has only ceded what was her 
own, and has never been the agent of injustice, or the 
vassal of rapacity. It will soon be seen how far the 
court of Prussia will be allowed to administer the con- 
cerns of Hanover, for it is somewhat remarkable, but 
a well known fact, that the French General Barbou 
has been sent to Hanover to superintend matters, and 
to see that things are so administered there, as may 
best suit the interests and future vieAvs of France. 
All fair argument, or even the shadow of it, has been 
set aside ; and it is notorious, that France has treated 
Prussia in a manner that she had perhaps a right to 
do, namely, as a degraded and abject vassal. His 
Majesty has in the plainest, most explicit, and strong- 
est terms, expressed his abhorrence of such unjusti- 
fiable and detestable proceedings ; and, in assuring 
his Majesty of our determination to support him 
against such unprovoked and unprincipled aggres- 
sions, we shall avoid the possibility of an imputation, 
that we could for a moment be capable of countenan- 
cing this odious mode of transferring the property 
and territory of one power to another. Gracious 
God ! is it to be borne, even in idea, that princes 
should think themselves justified in transferring the 
subjects of one power to another, as so many objects 
of mere convenience, and as we would do oxen for a 
field in the fair way of bargain and sale. I am sure 
there can be but one feeling on such a subject in this 
House, and therefore I had the greatest pleasure in 
sending a note to Baron Jacobi, in which I informed 
him, that his Majesty never would consent to trans- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 199 

fer subjects who had ever shown themselves so warm- 
ly and inviolably attached to him, and to whom he felt 
himself bomid by so many ties of affection and grati- 
tude." 

Mr. Fox concluded his speech, which made great 
impression on the House, by moving, that an humble 
address be presented to his Majesty for his most gni- 
cious message ; assuring his Majesty that the House 
participated in his Majesty's paternal feelings in the 
loss of Hanover ; an event which could not be regard- 
ed with indifference, as deeply affecting the interests 
of this country also ; and assuring his Majesty that 
the House was ready to support his just and paternal 
claims.*' 

Those who can trace with an impartial eye the 
conduct of Mr. Fox from the commencement of his 
political career, must be thoroughly -convinced that 
consistency was not one of his qualities. Indeed, 
under a government so constituted as that of this 
kingdom, where the sovereign is under the neces- 
sity of resigning the management of affairs to that 
party which has the superiority in the senate of the 
nation, where of course the utmost exertions of the 
one are incessantly directed to the expulsion of 
the other from power, in order to seize the vacant 
places of authority and emolument, it would be a 
difficult task to point out the man who, whether in 
or out of office, has acted upon the same uniform 
principles. 

We shall not then be much surprised to find the 
conduct of Mr. Fox, the secretary of state, diametri- 
cally opposite to the professions of the Mr. Fox 
who courted popularity among the rabble of West- 



200 THE LIFE OF 

minster or endeavoured to excite opposition to the 
minister of the day by factious declamation at the 
Crown and Anchor, the Shakspeare, or Free-ma- 
son's Tavern. 

He who in 1805, had been the strenuous advo- 
cate for the Catholics of Ireland, did not in 1806 
absolutely refuse to fulfil the engagements to them 
in which he was involved ; but it was pleaded in 
his favour that it was not the time ; and it was insi- 
nuated, that when confirmed in office, he would 
not fail to do for them what he could not then ven- 
ture to attempt. He who in 1805, had so loudly 
called for condign punishment on Lord Melville for 
the alleged peculation of a few thousands of pounds, 
in 1806, threw every impediment in the way of an 
investigation of the conduct of Marquis Wellesley, 
accused, among other charges, of misapplying more 
than as many millions. He who had exerted all his 
faculties in condemning the income-tax imposed by 
Mr. Pitt, as founded in oppression and injustice, 
who declared that if it was carried, this country 
would not be a place for an honest man to live in, 
became the advocate of the abrupt increase of that 
tax from six to ten per cent, and was not ashamed 
to declare that " its operation was to be arrested 
only when it would occasion a want of the necessa- 
ries of life." He who had formerly inculcated with 
such force the necessity of a rigid economy in the 
expenditure of the public money, who had stood 
forth as the bulwark of the people against the grow- 
ing influence of the crown, now lent his support to 
measures which he would then have execrated. 

It cannot be denied that this dereliction of many 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 201 

of those principles in support of which he had once 
clamored so loudly, began to diminish his popula- 
rity. An expedient to which he resorted, soon 
after his accession to office, was not calculated to 
exalt his character in the estimation of those who 
had the real interest of their country at heart. A 
pamphlet, entitled An Inquiry into the State of the 
Nation, made its appearance, and the public was 
given to understand that it was the production of 
Lord Holland's pen, under the immediale direction 
of Mr. Fox. In this performance it was insinuated 
that the nation was reduced to such extremity that 
no peace with Buonaparte, however disadvantageous 
and ignominious ought to be unacceptable. Though 
this publication was equally discreditable to the ta- 
lents and candor of the new ministry, though abroad 
it tended to detach all our allies from our side, and to 
inculcate the doctrine of universal submission to the 
ruler of France, yet it had the desired effect on ma- 
ny persons of weak minds at home, where it was 
tricked out in all the authority of a ministerial ma- 
nifesto. 

With regard to the abolition of the slave trade, 
"vvhich was no pa:rty measure, Mr. Fox's conduct was 
ever consistent. We have seen that on the first agi- 
tation of the question, he attacked that traffic with all 
the powers of his eloquence, and gave his strenuous 
support to every endeavour to suppress it. The 
same disposition he manifested when in power. On 
the 10th of June he introduced this subject to the at- 
tention of the House. He said that fifteen or sixteen 
years ago, the question of the abolition of the slave 
U-ade had been brought forward by an Hon. Gentle- 



202 THE LIFE OF 

man (Mr. Wilberforce) and he should have willingly 
left it in his hands, had he understood that Hon. Gen- 
tleman to have liad it in his contemplation to make 
any motion on the subject in the course of the present 
session. He therefore had undertaken the business, 
and should the motion be carried, ^^ith which he 
meant to conclude, all the time he had spent in Par- 
liament, now between thirty and forty years, he should 
think well bestowed. Whatever differences of opi- 
nion led to impede the measure of abolition; yet, with 
regard to the opinion of the House, it was not unani- 
mous, but as near unanimity as possible. Not only 
such was the general sentiment, but it was incontes- 
tibly proved by the resolutions of the House, that the 
slave trade was contrary to the principles of justice, 
humanity, and sound policy. The Right Hon. Gen- 
tleman then quoted the great authority of Mr. Burke, 
in support of his argument, and then dwelt most for- 
cibly on the cruelty and injustice of this infamous and 
degrading traffic, pointing out the various artifices by 
which the unhappy natives of Africa were entrapped. 
He then aHuded to the conduct of Mr. Pitt and Lord 
Sidmouth, while in their respective administrations. 
The first supported an immediate abolition ; and the 
latter, though he only wished it gradually abolished, 
nevertheless entertained the most complete abhor- 
rence of so detestable a trade. It was a long time 
since the first resolution had been agreed to, declaring 
that the trade should expire in 1 800, and we were now 
in the middle of 1806, and yet no step had been taken 
to put an end to this most degrading commerce. It 
would, he apprehended, be impossible for a bill of abo- 
lition to be passed by both Houses in the present ses- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 203 

sion, though there could be no doubt of the justice 
and policy of a bill of that description being introduc- 
ed. He then, at some length, detailed the object of 
the resolution he intended to move, and enlarged 
upon the urgency and expediency of agreeing to it as 
an intermediate step to the total abolition of the most 
infamous traffic that had ever degraced humanity. 
Mr. Fox concluded, with moving the following reso- 
lution : — ." That this House, conceiving the African 
Slave Trade to be contrary to the principles of justice, 
humanity, and sound policy, will, with all practical 
expedition, take effectual measures for abolishing 
the said trade, in such period, as may be deemed most 
desirable." 

This motion was, as usual, opposed by the members 
for Liverpool, and a few others interested in the traf- 
fic ; but it was supported by Mr. Wilberforce and all 
the members of administration, and carried by 114 
against 15. 

This v/as nearly the last time that Mr. Fox deliv- 
ered his sentiments on any public measure, his atten- 
dance on his parliamentary duty being interrupted by 
the rapid decline of his health. 

The symptoms of the disease which proved fatal 
to him, began to manifest themselves before the con- 
clusion of the year 1805. Being on a visit to a no- 
bleman in the country, in the month of December, 
Mr. Fox found himself so indisposed, that he was 
unable to take either the same exercise or the same 
divertions as formerly. His friends observed the 
change, with a presentiment of the consequences; he 
himself was not blind to his progressively advancing 
weakness, and was conscious that he should not live 



204 THE LIFE OF 

long. At this period one of his friends having ap- 
plied to him for his concurrence and support in an 
affair of some importance, Mr. Fox returned this 
answer : " My life has been active beyond my 
strength, I had almost said my duty. If I have not 
acted much, you will allow that I have spoken much, 
and I have felt more than I have either acted or spok- 
,en. My constitution has sunk under it. I find my- 
self unequal to the business on which you have writ- 
ten ; it must be left to younger men." 

At this time Mr. Fox was confined for several 
days to his bed. His legs swelled, and he took 
large doses of decoction of the woods, under the idea 
that his disorder was the scurvy. One peculiarity 
belonging to Mr. Fox was, that he had formed in 
his own mind a kind of philosophic theory of medi- 
cine, referring disease of every kind to two causes, 
impurity of the blood, and the habit of the stomach. 
He seldom consulted a physician, prescribing for 
himself, and even mixing his own medicines. Rhu- 
barb and vegetable decoctions were his favourite 
inedicines ; and his annual bill for drugs amounted 
to a considerable sum. 

He now entered on a course of medicine for the 
scurvy, and by this treatment probably contributed 
to aggravate his real disease, which was the dropsy,^ 
In this state he returned to town early in January. 
The activity occasioned by the important aspect of 
political affairs, just before the dissolution of Mr. 
Pitt, banis!ied from Mr. Fox all sense of his weak- 
ness. Once, however, he employed this remark- 
able expression — " Pitt has died in January — per- 
haps I may go off before June." A gentleman who 



CHARLES JAMES F®X. 205 

was in company with him, having made some ob- 
servation in reply — " Nay," said Mr. Fox, " I begin 
to think my complaint not unlike Pitt's ; my sto- 
mach has been long discomposed ; I feel my consti- 
tution dissolving." 

The interval between the death of Mr. Pitt and 
the appointment of the new administration, was to 
Mr. Fox a period of great vexation and anxiety. 
His health suffered severely^ his appetite sensibly 
decreased, and his legs alternately swelled, and be- 
came reduced. While in action he seemed per- 
fectly well, but scarcely was he seated, when he was 
seized with a sickishness of the stomach, from which 
no medicine could relieve him. He refused medical 
advice, imputing these alarming symptons to tem- 
porary anxiety, that would subside with the cause 
from which they originated. 

This state of health continued through the month 
of March, when his friends were convinced, that he 
was breaking fast. Still he i^isisted that his disease 
was only a tempx)rary habit, and as he happened 
in May to recover an interval of strength,^ that cir- 
cumstance tended to confirm him in his error. The 
symptoms, however, soon returned with redoubled 
violence, and a physician being called in, he was 
pronounced .at the latter end of June, in a rapid state 
of decay. 

It was the beginning of July before his disease 
was completely ascertained. The symptoms were 
no longer doubtful, the lethargy became alarm- 
ing, and the tumors daily increased. All efforts 
to discharge the water by the natural process fail- 
ing, a consultation was held on the 29th of Julvi 
S 



206 , THE LIFE OF 

when it was agreed to try the operation of another 
powerful medicine, and it it failed of an immediate 
diuretic effect, that he should be tapped as the only- 
remaining resource. ^ The medicine failed ; Mr. 
Fox swelled in a most alarming manner, and, con- 
vinced of the necessity of tapping, he requested that 
it might no longer be delayed.' 

The operation was performed on the 7th of 
August ; the quantity taken from him was about 
five gallons. The weakness which succeeded, was 
such as to excite a general alarm that he would not 
survive it ; he was long speechless, and that at the 
moment when thp public prints represented him all 
gaiety and spirits. His state continued very doubt- 
ful till the night of the 10th, when he again began to- 
recover strength. He now breakfasted with one 
or two of his more intimate friends by his be3-side, 
and conversed with them as long as his physicians 
permitted. 

During one of these morning' conversations Mr. 
Fox first expressed his conviction that his disease 
would terminate fatally. A nobleman who was 
present, had been saying, that he had made a party 
for Christmas in tlie country, and had taken the 
liberty to include Mr. Fox in it without his know- 
ledge. " But it will be a new scene. Sir," added 
he, " and I think you will approve of it." — " I shall 
indeed be in a new scene by Christmas next," re- 
plied Mr. Fox. " My lord," continued he, " what 
do you think of the state of the soul after death r" — 
Apparently confounded by the unexpected turn 
which Mr. Fox had given to the conversation, his 
lordshi|3 made no reply. Mr. Fox proceeded — ■ 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 207 

^ That it is immortal, I am convinced. The exist- 
ence of the Diety is a proof that spirit exists ; why 
not therefore the soul of man? And if such an 
essence as the soul exists, by its nature it may exist 
for ever. I should have believed in the immortality 
of the soul, though Christianity had never existed; 
but how it acts as separated from the body, is beyond 
my capacity of judgment. This, however, I shall 
know by next Christmas." Mrs. Fox took his hand 
and Wept. " I am happy," said he, with great emo- 
tion, " full of confidence — ^I may say of certainty." 

So early as the middle of July the physicians in- 
formed Lord Holland that it was not reasonable to 
expect any favourable termination. His relatives, 
however, from anxious affection^ endeavoured to de- 
rive hopes even from the most equivocal circum- 
stances, when, on the 20th of August he fell into a 
long lethargy, and on the following day the return 
of the water was evident. From this period Mr. 
Fox himself never encouraged any hope bu<, gradual- 
ly prepared himself for the awful event, of which, it 
was evident, he thought most seriously. 

On the 25th, the physicians unable to check the 
accumulation of water, or to procure any evacuation 
for it, announced to Mr. Fox that it would be necessa- 
ry to tap him again. " I know"" said he, " that I 
cannot survive this general dissolution of my consti- 
tution.' Tell me how long you think I may live ; I 
do not ask you if my recovery is even possible." He 
was told that some instances had occurred. " Never," 
replied Mr. Fox, " at my peyiod of life, and with my 
constitution. I entreat you to inform me how long 
you think I can remain in my present state." The 



208 THE LIFE OF 

physicians consulted togetller, but were still silent. 
" I will consent to be tapped," continued Mr. Fox, 
" but on the express condition that I shall be previ- 
ously removed to St. Ann's Hill. It is nearest to my 
heart to breathe my last there." Such, however, 
was his weakness, that the physicians unanimously 
declared his removal impossible. At a subsequent 
consultation on the same day, they agreed to comply 
with his wish so far, that he should be removed to the 
Duke of Devonshire's house, at Chiswick, as part of 
the way to St. Ann's Hill, in the hope, that, when the 
water was again discharged, the change of air might 
operate favourably on his stomach. 

He was accordingly removed to Chiswick on the 
27th of August, but was so weak that the physicians 
were obliged to defer the tapping for four days, and 
even then it was judged necessary to stop before all 
the water was drawn off. Three days afterwards the 
operation was completed, a new course of medicine 
was tried, and for a short time he appeared to recover 
health and spirits. 

His friends, sanguine to the last, indulged hopes 
which however quiekly vanished. On the evening 
of the 7th of September, his physicians perceived the 
symptoms of approaching dissolution, which they no- 
tified to Lord Holland, but Mrs. Fox was not made 
acquainted with it till the following day. The .symp- 
toms had increased so much in violence, that it was 
decided to inform Mr. Fox that he would probably 
not survive twenty-four hours, and that his recovery, 
or the continuance of his life for fourteen days, was 
not within the possibility of things. " " God's will be 
done," replied Mr. Fox-—" I have lived long enough, 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 209 

and shall die happy." Lord Holland now entered, 
Mr. Fox opened his hand, which his nephew grasped, 
unable to repress his tears. — " My dear, my beloved 
nephew," exclaimed he, with great emotion. Mrs. 
Fox, supported by Lady Holland, and Lady Elizabeth 
Foster, now entered, and the scene of distress which 
ensued was past description. 

No one expected Mr. Fox to have survived the 
night. He remained, however, in the same state till 
towards the morning of the 10th, when it was again 
announced that he could not live over the day. All 
the symptoms of immediate dissolution manifested 
themselves, and such v/as his situation till the morn- 
ing of the following day. 

The change v/hich took, place on the 1 1th was sur- 
prising ; in those who had not been accustomed to the 
bed of death, it excited the most lively hopes ; and 
some indignation was even felt against the physicians 
for their coldness, and the little value they attached 
to these appearances. 

Early in the morning of the 12th, the former fatal 
symptoms returned, and it was a third time announ- 
ced to Mr. Fox that he could not live many hours. 
His friends again took leave of him. They were 
about to retire,, but Mr. Fox waved them back again, 
and manifested signs of impatience, when the physi- 
cians advised them to withdraw. He was able to 
speak at intervals ; and when Lord Henry Petty ap- 
proached his bed, he said, ^» This is all in the course 
of nature. I am happy. Your labour is difncult — do 
not despair." Mr. Fox would have proceeded, but 
his lordship, unable to repress his emotions, retired, 
by the desire of the physicians, to another part of the 
S 2 



210 THE LIFE OF 

room. Mrs. Fox was fixed motionless with grief; 
when a sudden burst of tears defeated ail her precau- 
tion. Mr. Fox, who had hold of her hand, though 
his back was turned towards her, raised his head.— 
" Do not, do not,*' said he, with a piteous look. He 
was now much exhausted, and fell into a kind of stu- 
por. In the evening his friends were again admit- 
ted. Lord Holland and Mrs. Fox seemed to engage 
almost all his attention : he spoke to them at inter- 
vals, but finding himself exhausted, he put the hand 
of Mrs. Fox into that of Lord Holland, and seemed 
solemnly to impose a silent blessing, by raising his 
own, and suffering it to descend gently on tlie united 
hands of his wife and nephew. 

It was evident on the morning of the 1 3th that he 
was approaching nearer his end. By signs and half- 
words he again desired the presence of his friends. 
About noon they approached his bed, when he made 
a sign for the hands of Mrs. Fox and Lord Holland, 
which he again united, silently blessing them, with 
the same slow descent of his hand as the preceding 
day. This he repeated three times, and then en- 
deavoured to turn himself, his back being towards 
them, and only his head raised. Being too weak for 
the effort, Mrs. Fox and Lord Holland went round to 
the other side of the bed, when he pronounced the 
last words he was able to articulate : " God bless you, 
bless you, and you all. I die happy — I pity you." 
He now fell into a stupor, from v, hich he recovered 
about three o'clock, and looked for a moment fully 
upon all in the room, but hung particularly on the 
countenances of Lord Holland and Mrs. Fox. He 
then closed his eyes never to open them again, and 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 211 

expired about twenty minutes before six o'clock in 
the evening. i 

Thus died Mr. Fox, in less than eight months 
after his illustrious rival. It may be remarked that 
the expiring words of these t\^o great men were 
strongly characteristic of the, disposition of their 
minds. Mr. Pitt, whose ex liled soul was wholly 
absorbed in anxiety for the future fortune of that 
empire, the reins of which ])e I^id directed with such 
ability and integrity, breathed forth his last sigh, 
while the exclamation of the virtuous Roman-— 
" Oh ! my country 1"— died away on his quivering 
lips. " I die happy, but I pity you," — said Mr. Fox, 
in whose nature was blended a greater portion of 
those tender sympatliies which render the heart 
deeply sensible to the charms of social and domes- 
tic life. In the one, the love of country was para- 
mount to every earthly consideration, in the other, 
the love of those objects to whom he was attached 
by the bonds of friendship and the ties of blood. 

The remains of Mr. Fox were removed from 
Chiswick to the house recently occupied by him in 
the Stable-yard, St. James's, previous to his funeral, 
which took place on the 10th of October, the anni- 
versary of his first election for Westminster, which 
had been regularly celebrated for twenty-four years. 
It was the intention of the Prince of Wales to assist 
at the solemnity, but this design he relinquish.ed on 
receiving an intimation, that the attendance of any 
branch of the royal £imily at a private funeral was 
contrary to the established etiquette. 

On the morning of the 10th, the remains of Mr. 
Fox lay hi state for the gratification of his numerous 



212 THE LIFE OF 

friends, who assembled to pay the last tribute of re- 
spect to his memory. The room was hung with black, 
large lighted tapers were placed on each side of the 
coffin, on which were displayed the banners that were 
afterwards carried in the procession. 

A car had been purposely constructed for the con- 
veyance of the body to its final resting-place in 
Westminster Abbey. It was considerably larger 
than that employed in the funeral of the heroic Nel- 
son, and was twenty- seven feet in height. The 
shape was an oblong square, with a platform about 
seven feet from the ground, and raised towards the 
centre by five steps, upon which the body was laid. 
Thedome, of a semi-circular form, was supported by 
four pillars, and covered with the richest black velvet 
drapery, trimmed with deep black silk fringe. The. 
drapery round the platform nearly touched the 
ground, so as entirely to conceal the wheels ; this 
was looped up by roses of black velvet, fastened by 
silk cords and rich tassels. The pillars were covered 
with black velvet drapery, festooned in the most taste- 
ful style, and looped by silk cords, and tassels. The 
dome was covered with a quantity of the finest 
plumes of black ostrich feathers. Near five hundred 
yards of velvet were used in the decorations of this 
superb carriage, which required no superfluous orna- 
ments to add to its grandeur and solemnity, and there- 
fore all additional decorations, such as escutcb.eons, 
were omitted ; and the effect was doubly grand, aw- 
ful and solemn. 

From an early hour in the- morning the streets 
through which the procession was to pass were great- 
ly crowded, and for several hours previous to its com- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 213 

mencement, the windows, balconies, and tops of the 
houses about St. James's, Pall Mall, Charing Cross, 
Whitehall, and thence to Westminster Abbey, were 
fully occupied, The streets leading into this line 
were blocked by a' temporary railing, behind which 
were drawn up vehicles of various descriptions filled 
with spectators. Several detachments of the Horse 
Guards were stationed at the different avenues to 
prevent interruption from carriages, while others tra- 
versed the streets to preserve order and regularity. 
The line of procession was kept by several corps of 
volunteers, assistedby some detachments of the Foot 
Guards and Veteran battalion. 

About two o'clock the procession commenced in 
the following order : 

The Westminster Volunteer Cavalry. 

The Junior Officers in front with trumpets ; the Cornmand> 

ing Officer in the rear. 

Six Marshalmen, two and two-, 

With black scarfs, hatbands and gloves. 

Mr. Marryon, High Constable of Westminster, mounted era 

a black liorse, 

Witli his staff of office, black scarf, hatband, &c. 

Six Conductors, on foot. 

Carrying white staves, with hatbands, Sec. 

Fifty-seven poor men. 

Being the number of years composing the age of the deceased, 

in mourning cloaks, 

With a badge of his crest, hatbands, &c. 

Arthur Morris, Esq. High BaiUff of Westminster, mounted 

on a white horse. 

With black scarf, hatband, &c. supported by twoMarshalmen, 

With staves of office, hatbands, &c 



214 THE LIFE OF 

Six Marsh almen, two and two, as before. 

Two Conductors, on foot. 

With black staves, &.C. as before. 

One hundred and seventy-six Gentlemen, Electors of Wes1|- 

minster,> &c. in mourning cloaks, hatbands, &c. walking 

four and four. 

Deputation from the Country. 

Sixty-four gentlemen. 

In mourning cloaks, hatbands, &.c. four and four. 

Black Standard Banner, 

Carried by a gentleman on foot, with scarf, hatband, ko^ 

supported by two gentlemen, with scarfs, &c. 

Members of the Whig Club, 

One Hundred and Fifty in black mourning cloaks, hatbandsj 

&c. walking three and three. 

Ninety-six in black silk scarfs, hatbands, and gloves, foUr 

and four. 

Five Gentlemen of the Household, 



Five Grooms, and other inferior Servants of the deceased, 

In deep mourning, with black crape hatbands, walking t\\\ 

and two. 

Physicians and Medical Gentlemen, 

With black silk scarfs, hatbands. Sec. in two mourning 

coaches, with six horses each'. 

Eight Physicians and Medical Gentlemen, 

On foot, with black silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. 

' Among whom were — 

Doctors Vaughan and Mosety, and Surgeon Cline. 

Divines in their Canonicals, &c. 

Seven in their gowns, &c. with scarfs and hatbands, in two 

mourning coaches, drawn by six horses each. 

Among whom wer^ — 

Dr. Parr, and Dr. Baine, Master of the Charter House 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 215 

Twenty Divines on foot. 

In scarfs, hatbands, &c. two and two. 

Singing Boys of the Chapel Royal, 

Eighteen, in their full dress of scarlet and gold, with cocked 

hats, black silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. 

Two Mutes on Horseback, 

Carrying staves, covered with black silk, black cloaks, silk 

hatbands, &c. 
State Plume of Black Ostricli Feathers, with Velvet Falls, 
Carried by two men, with black silk scarfs, hatbands, and 
gloves, supported by two pages, with black wands, witli 
gilt heads, scarfs, hatbands, &c. 

Two Mutes on Horseback, 
Carrying staves, with scarfs, &c, as before. 
Two Men on Horseback, 
As conductors, in mourning cloaks, with black silk hat- 
bands, &c. '^ 
The Great Banner, 
(Representing the Arms of the deceased, quartered with 
those of the United Kingdom, to denote that he was one 
of the chief Secretaries of State of his Majesty,) carried 
by an Officer of the Herald's Office, supported by two 
Gentlemen in mourning, with black silk scarfs, hatbands, 
&c. 

Two Horsemen, 
In cloaks, &c. as before. 
Two Bannerols, 
With the Arms and Crest of the deceased, on a white 
ground, trimmed with black and white fringe, and car- 
ried by two gentlemen on horseback, with black silk 
scarfs, hatbands, &c. 

Two Horsemen, 

With cloaks, &c. as before. 

Two Bannerols, . 

The same as before, with very little variation, carried by 

Gentlemen as before. 



216 THE LIfE OF 

Two Horsemen, 
With cloaks, he. as before. 
The Crest of the deceased. 
Carried on a black velvet cushion, by a gentlerhan of the 
Herald's Office, on horseback, uncovered, led by two 
grooms, in deep moiu-nlng-, with black silk scarfs, hat- 
bands, &.C. The horse covered with black velvet trap- 
pings, trimmed with deep black silk fringe, and ornament- 
ed by escutcheons of the arms of the desceased. 

THE BODY, 

In a coffin covered with black velvet, richly mounted in 
gilt furniture ; carried in a hearse, drawn by six black 
horses, led .by grooms of noblemen, in deep mourning, 
with black silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. attended by six 
pages on each side, also in deep mourning, with trunche- 
ons, blapk silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. 

Six Noblemen, Pall-bearers : 
The Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of 
Devonshire, the Earl of Thanet, the Earl of Carlisle, the 
Earl of Albermarle, in full dress mourning, with black 
silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. in tv/o mourning coaches, drawn 
by six state black horses each. 

The Chief Mourner, Lord Holland, 
With a train cloak, supported by two noblemen (the Earl 
Fitz William and Viscount Ho wick,) with black silk 
scarfs, hatbands, &c, in a mourning" coach, with six state 
horses. 

Train-bearers to the Chief MoiU'ner, Mr. Trotter, 
(Mr. Fox's private Secretary, Nephew of the late Bishop of 

Down, a most intimate friend of the deceased.) 

With black silk scarf, hatband, &c. in a mounting coach 

-with four horses. 

The twenty Noblemen and Gentlemen Directors, 

Part in mourning coaches, and part walking two and two. 

Among whom were — The Attorney and Solicitor General, 

the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, (the Right Hon. John 



CHARLES JAMES POX.. 217 

Phllpot Curran), Lord William Russel, Earl Cowper, 
Lord R. Spencer, Lord John 'I'ownsend, Messrs. Byng-, 
Whitbread, Adam, Sheridan, &c. &c. 8cc. ^ 

A small Black Banner, 
With the arms of the deceased, caiTiedby a gentleman on 
foot, with black silk scarf, hatband, 8cc. 
Peers, Mourners, 
With black silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. two and two. 
Among whom were — Marquisses Tavistock, and Head- 
fort — ^Earls of Besborough, Thanet, Carysfort, Suffolk, 
Cholmondeley, and Jersey — Viscounts Melbourne, Sid- 
mouth, he. &c. 

Sons of Peers, Mourners. 
Earl Percy, Lords Stanley, St. John, Ossulstone, G. Caven- 
dish, Petre, four Ponsonbys, sons of Lord Ponsouby, &.c. 
&c. with scarfs, &,c. as above. 

Members of the House of Commons, 
With black silk scarfs, hatbands, &c. two and two. 
Banners of Emblems, 
(Representing Britannia lamenting the loss of the deceased, 
with the Lion and Shield at her feet, shaded by a willow) 
carried by a gentleman en horseback, with black scai-f, 
hatband, 8cc. supported by two gentlemen on foot with 
scarfs, &c. 

The Carriage of the Deceased, 
Drawn by four horses, with three servants, in deep mourn- 
ing*, scarfs, hatbands, &c. behind. 
State and other Carriages : 
Lord Holland's, and four, servants in deep mourning, tliree 
footmen beliiud— Lord Henry Petty's, servants with black 
silk hatbands, &c. — Lord Ellenborough's, as before — 
Lord Grenville's, as before — Earl Percy's, as before — 
Earl Fitzwilliam's, as before — Earl Bcsborough's, and 
six, with three footmen, black silk hatbands, &c. in state 
liveries — the Dake of Devonshire's, and six, servants in 
mourning, 8cc.— Duke of Norfolk's, as before— Lord ViU 
T 



218 THE LIFE 01 

llers's, as before — Lord Chancellor's, and four, as before 
— Sir John Aubrey's, as before — Sir John Throckmor- 
ton's, as before — Mr. Adam's — Lord Moira's — Earl Cow- 
per's — Earl Jersey's— Earl Tlianet's — Lord William Rus- 
sel's — Earl Fitzwilliam's — Earl Cholmondeley's — Lord G 
Cavendish's — Lord Petre's — Earl of Albemarle's — Earl 
of Carlisle's — Earl Spencer's — Viscount Sidmouth's — 
Lord John Townsend's — Viscount Howick's — Mr. Whit- 
bread's — Mr. Sheridan's — Mr. Alderman Combe's — Mr. 
Jervoise's — Mr. Home's — Mr. Langley's — Mr. Glover's — 
Mr. Lucie's — Mr. E. Bouverie's — the Marquis of Tavis- 
tock's — Marquis of Headfort's — Lord Stanley's — General 
Fitzpatrick's — amounting to upwards of forty cai-riages 



From the multitude of people who crowded about 
the palace, a great mimber of noblemen's and gen- 
tlemen's carriages were not able to fall into the pro- 
cession, and for the same reason, the carriages which 
did join, were obliged to take their place promiscu- 
ously, without regard to rank. 

As the procession passed Carleton House, a full 
band of music, to the number of thirty, ranged there 
for the purpose, played the Dead March in Saul, 
and other solemn music, which produced the most 
impressive effect. 

On their arrival at the east end of Westminster 
Abbey, the several noblemen and gentlemen, who 
were before in carriages, alighted, and the body be- 
ing removed from the hearse, the whole procession 
passed in regular order, on foot, through the narrow 
passage between the Abbey and St. Margaret's 
Church, taking a sweep through the Sanctuary, and 
entering at the great v/estern gate, where the pre- 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 219' 

bend and clergy of Westminster, preceded by the 
tjentlemen of the choir, attended to receive them. 

Within the Abbey the St. Margaret's and St. 
John's Volunteers were stationed on each side of the 
principal aisle. It was near four o'clock when the 
procession began to enter, when the organ and the 
choir cammenced Dr. Croft's funeral service, with 
the anthem : " I am the resurrection of the life," 
£cc. The solemnity of the scene made a deep im- 
pression on those who had enjoyed the particular 
friendship of the deceased statesman. The funeral 
service was read by the Rev. Dr. Ireland, one of 
the prebends of the cathedral, and at the grave the 
choir sung Purcell's burial service— Mzw that is born 
of a woman^ Iffc. About half past four the coffin was 
deposited in the grave formed for the purpose about 
eight feet in depth, and exactly opposite the monu- 
•ment of the illustrious Chatham. 

In person, Mr. Fox was about the middling size, 
and of late years he had become very corpulent and 
unwieldy. His features, which were strongly mark- 
ed, exhibited an appearance of shrewdness and abili- 
ty, and his eye, in the midst of a debate or of an 
interesting conversation, was uncommonly animated. 
His face and figure will be long recollected ; his bust 
has been repeatedly carved in marble by the chisel 
of Nollekens, who is said to have executed up-wards 
of thirty. The pencil was likewise employed in 
transmitting his resemblance to posterity, no portrait 
having been painted so often. 

No man was ever more ready to bestow praise ou 
others than Mr. Fox, and in return he has himself 
been gratified with the homage of many disting;uish- 



220 "THE LIFE OF 

ed persons of the present age. The great lexicogra- 
pher, although pensioned by the king, and unfriend- 
ly to his principles, avowed his attachment to his per- 
son and his admiration of his genius; his schoolfel- 
low, the Earl of Carlisle, hailed the dawning talents 
of his youth ; the classic pen of Dr. Parr offered a 
sincere tribute to the brilliancy of maturer years ; the 
Duchess of Devonshire, surrounded by the Loves 
and the Graces, hailed him as the brightest ornament 
of his age ; while the late Duke of Bedford installed 
his bust in the unfinished Temple at Woburn, which 
he had dedicated to Liberty, and on his death-bed, 
requested of his successor that it might be complet- 
ed for its reception. Underneath this bust are in- 
scribed the following verses from the pen of the 
Duchess of Devonshire J 

'' Here, *midst the friends he lov'd, the man behold 5 
in truth unshaken, and in virtue bold : 
Whose patriot zeal and uncorrupted mind 
Dar'd to assert the freedom of mankiwd ; 
And, whilst extending desolation far. 
Ambition spread the baleful flames of war ; 
Fearless of blame, and eloquent to save, 
'Twas he — 'twas Fox, the warning- comisel gave i 
"A'lidst jarring' conflicts stemm'd the tide of blood. 
And to the menac'd world a sea-mark stood ! 

Oh I had his voice in mercy's cause prevail'd, 
V/liat gTatefal miliions had the statesman hail'd : 
Wliose wisdom made the broils of nations cease. 
And taught the world liumanlty and peace ! 
But tho' he fail'd, succeeding ages here 
The vain, yet pious, effort shall revere, 
Boast in their annals his illustrious name. 
Uphold his g'reatness and confirm his fame.'* 



CHARLES JAMES FOX, 221 

It is on the talents displayed by Mr. Fox as an 
orator that his future fame will be principally found- 
ed. To assist the reader in forming a just estimate 
of his merits in the characterof a senator and a states- 
man, we shall take the liberty of transcribing- the ob- 
servations of a respectable journalist, which evince 
equal soundness of judgment and impartiality. — " As 
an orator, Mr. Fox deservedly possessed a most pro- 
minent rank amongst the ornaments of the British 
Senate.. With powers of mind of the very first or- 
der, and habits of thought and reflection of the most 
profound description, it was impossible for him, while 
he mixed in public affairs, not to establish an ascen- 
dancy in every discussion respecting them. Accord- 
ing we have seen him, on every such occasion, with 
the exception only of his ill-judged secession from 
parliament, taking the foremost ground, in opposing 
the measures and policy of that truly great minister, 
and transcendant statesman, the late Mr. Pitt. — 
Whilst the minor members of his party wxre em- 
ployed in skirmishing, or making feeble attacks on 
the out-works, Mr. Fox uniformly assailed the citadel. 
He disdained to enter the lists against any adversary, 
but the great leader of his opponents, whilst he re- 
mained to be encountered. The object of his attacks, 
however, was too firmly intrenched on the advanta- 
geous grounds of policy and pati ioiism, to allow any 
serious impression to be made upon lum. But if Mr. 
Fox failed in his hostile operationsj he was never dis- 
graced by his defeat. Though we could not approve 
the cause, we could not withhold our admiration of 
the ability with which it was uniformly supported. 
The extent of his knowledge and the fecundity of his 
T 2 



222 THE LIFE OF 

mind enabled Mr. Fox, whenever it suited his views, 
to swell trifles to consequence, and to enhance even 
the magnitude of important questions. He was gift- 
ed wdth a force of sagacity, that enabled him instant- 
ly to comprehend the most multiplied details, to ana- 
lyze the most complicated arguments, and to redute 
the most refined and elaborate positions to the stand- 
ard of first principles. Always animated himself, he 
never failed to animate others. Unambitious of the 
melody of sounds, or the decorative embellishments 
of polished language, he studied only the lucid expo- 
sition of his matter, and the precision and force of his 
reasoning were principally directed to guide the judg- 
ment, and inform the understanding. He neglected, 
we think culpably neglected, that most essential re- 
quisite of a finished orator — fluent, copious, and cor- 
rect diction. Attentive only to his matter, he was of- 
ten betrayed into solecisms of language, and violations 
of grammatical accuracy, that were unpardonable in a 
leading public speaker. In this respect he was infi- 
nitely below his great and illustrious rival. While 
we could discern in him ail the characters of a vigo- 
rous and active mind, we had always to regret the ab- 
sence of those exterior graces that uniformly accom- 
panied and enriched the fine powers of his adversary, 
enhancing their influence without diminishing their 
strength. Mr. Fox, as a speaker, might be compar- 
ed to the rough but masterly specimen of the sculp- 
tor's art ; ' Mr. Pitt to the exquisitely finished statue. 
The former wanted a polish to render him perfect ; 
the latter possessed, in a transcendant degree, every 
requisite of an accomplished orator. The force of 
Mr. Fox's reasoning flafihed like lightning upon the 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 223 

minds of his hearers ; the thunder of Mr. Pitt's elo- 
quence gave irresistible effect to his powerful and con- 
vincing arguments. Though Mr. Fox's reasoning- 
was always cogent, and occasionally conclusive in the 
detail, it was frequently defective in point of arrange- 
ment for establishing his general conclusion. Like 
the lightning, to which we have compared it, many 
numberless distinct flashes succeeded each other in 
rapid order, without producing any impression cor- 
respondent either to their number or their individual 
force. Bursting, in frequent but often unconnected 
succession, from his fertile mind, they electrified when 
they did not convince, and always left a sense of ad- 
miration at their acuteness and splendour, even when 
their light was eclipsed in the glare of subsequent 
flaslies. Mr. Pitt's eloquence, on the contrary, pro-^ 
ceeded with all the m.ajesty of sound, and all the force 
of fire ; uniting the rapidity of the flash with the aw- 
ful solemnity of the peal, it enveloped his auditors in 
the light of conviction, and made the impression inde- 
lible by the irresistible energy with which it was urg- 
ed. Perhaps the world never produced, at any one 
period, two individuals so eminently superior to their 
contemporaries, so peculiarly calculated to be mutual 
rivals. It was in their collision with each other that 
their peculiar perfections were brought to light.^ 
Had they commenced and continued their political 
career on the same side, neither would, perhaps, have 
attained the eminence which both acquired. The 
planets shine with more lustre in opposition than in 
conjunction. If either were the sun, we should not 
hesitate to say (und we are sure no impartial mind 
will deny) it was Mr. Pitt. Mr. Fox was unquestion- 



224 THE LIFE OF 

ably a great luminary, the centre of a comprehen- 
sive system, giving light and heat to a number of se- 
condary bodies; The great sun, however, of British 
statesmen, set with the late premier. The time and 
lustre of that great statesman's appearance .bove our 
political horizon will ever be remembered with pride 
by his grateful countrymen. And what must highly 
aggravate the loss which Britain has to deplore in the 
death of Mr. Fox, is the reflection, that two such 
eminent men have, at such a crisis, been snatched 
away from its service within so short a period." 

To appreciate fully the merits of Mr. Fo:?c as a 
statesman, must he the work of time, and wiil be the 
province of the future historian. To estimate them 
by the sentiments he entertained while a leader of 
opposition, would be to deprive him of all credit from 
his conduct after he came into office. In his minis- 
terial capacity he gave repeated demonstrations of 
that enlarged spirit of policy, that comprehensive and 
commanding scale of combination which uniformly 
belong to a great statesman ; but we have had no 
proof that his actions strictly corresponded with the 
sentiments he expressed, — Notwithstanding the pa- 
triotic declarations he occasionajly made, there was 
great reason to apprehend that he was inclined .to of- 
fer more sacrifices at the shrine of peace than could 
be considered consistent with the honour, the inter- 
est, or the safety of the country. 

However politicians may differ with respect to the 
value and extent of his qualifications for the office of 
a pruicipal minister of state, all must concur in ad- 
miration of the rtire and cultivated powers ot his mind, 
the quickness and force of his inaJiination, the 



CHARLES JAMES FOX. 225 

Strength and acuteness of his reasoning, and the 
brilliancy, vigor, and intensity of his eloquence. At 
the same time they will lament that such extraordi- 
nary genius and talents were not uniformly directed 
to the attainment of some great and honourable end ; 
that the man who possessed those powers, instead of 
seeking to employ them for the benefit of the com- 
munity, devoted too many of his days and of his nights 
to the practice of every species of debauchery, degrad- 
ing himself to the level of Sharpers, pickpockets, and 
prostitutes. This surely was not the school in which 
to acquire the knowledge necessary for that station 
which was the object of his ambition. Had he 
pursued a different course, — had he avoided the 
paths of crooked policy, — had he followed the line of 
conduct which an honest, upright and independent 
spirit would dictate, instead of the equivocal reputa- 
tion he obtained, he might have been distinguished 
as one of the brightest ornaments of Britain, he might 
have enjoyed the first ofiices in the state, he might 
have been hailed with the acclamations of every de- 
scription of his countrymen, and have descended to 
the ^rave with the regret of every virtuous mind. 



fHE END, 



APPENDIX 



The following eloquent Paragraphs are extracted 
from Mr, Fox's celebrated Letter to the Elec- 
tors of Westminster in 1793. 

To vote in small minorities is a misfortune to 
which I have been so much accustomed, that I can- 
not be expected to feel it very acutely. 

To be the object of calumny and misrepresentation 
gives me uneasines, it is true, but an uneasiness not 
wholly unmixqd with pride and satisfaction, since the 
experience of all ages and countries teaches us, that 
calumny and misrepresentation are frequently the 
most unequivocal testimonies of the zeal, and possi- 
bly of the effect, with Which he against whom they 
are directed has served the public. 

But I am informed, that I now labour under a mis- 
fortune of a far different nature from these, and which 
can excite no other sensations than those of concern 
and humiliation. I am told, that you in general dis' 
approve my late conduct, and that, even among those 
whose partiality to me was most conspicuous, there 
are many who. when I am attacked upon the present 



228 .- APPENDIX. 

occasion, profess themselves neither able nor willing 
to defend me. 

That your unfavourable opinion of me (if in fact 
you entertain any such) is owing to misrepresenta- 
tion, I can have no doubt. To do away the effects of 
this misrepresentation is the object of this Letter ; 
and I know of no mode by which I can accomplish 
this object at once so fairly, and (as I hope) so efiec- 
tually, as by stating to you the different motions which 
I made in the House of Commons in the first days of 
this session, together with the motives and arguments 

which induced me to make them. 

* * * * ***** 

Impressed with these ideas, I could no more vote 
upon this last vague reason, than upon those of a 
more definite nature ; since, if in one case the pre- 
mises wanted proof, in the other, where proof was 
said to be superfluous, the conclusion w^as not just. 
If the majority of the House thought differently 
from me, and if this last ground of general appre- 
hension of future evils (the only one of all that were 
stated, upon whith it could with any colour of reason 
be pretended, that evidence was not both practicable 
and necessary), appeared to them to justify the mea- 
sures of Government; then, I say, they ought to 
have declared explicitly the true meaning of their 
vote, and either to have disclaimed distinctly any 
beliefin those impendingtumults and insurrections, 
which had filled the minds of so many thousand of 
our fellow subjects with the most anxious apprehen- ^ 
sions ; or have commenced an inquiry concerning 
them, the result of which would have enabled the 
House to lay before the public a true and authentic 



APPENDIX. 229 

State of the nation, to put us upon our guard ag-ainst 
real perils, and to dissipate chimerical alarms. 

I am aware, ^hat there were some persons who 
thought, that to be upon our guard was so much our 
first interest, in the presenfposture of affairs, that 
even to conceal the truth was less mischievous than 
to diminish the public terror. They dreaded inqui- 
ry, lest it should produce light : they felt so strongly 
the advantage of obscurity in inspiring terror, tliat 
they overlooked its other property of causing real 
peril. They were so alive to the dangers belonging 
to false security, that they were insensible to those 
arising from groundless alarms. — In this frame of 
mind they might, for a moment, forget that inte- 
grity and sincerity ought ever to be the characteris- 
tic virtues of a British House of Commons ; and 
Avhile they were compelled to admit that the House 
could not, without inquiry, profess its belief of dan- 
gers which (if true) might be substantiated by evi- 
dence, they might, nevertheless, be unwilling that 
the salutary alarm (for such they deemed it) arising 
from these supposed dangers in the minds of the 
people, should be wholly quieted. What they did 
not themselves credit, they might wish to be believ- 
ed by others. Dangers, which they considered as 
distant, they were not displeased that the public 
should suppose near, in order to excite more vigor- 
us exertions. 

To these systems of crooked policy and pious 
fraud, I have always entertained a kind of instinctive 
and invincible repugnance ; and, if I had nothing else 
to advance in defence of my conduct but this feeling, 
of which I cannot divest myself, I should be far from 
U 



230 APPENDIX. 

fearing your displeasure. But are there, in truth, 
no evils in a false alarm, besides the disgrace at- 
tending those who are concerned in propagating it ? 
Is it nothing to destroy peace, harmony, and confi- 
dence, among all ranks' of citizens ? Is it nothing to 
give a general credit and countenance to suspicions, 
which every man may point as his worst passions 
incline him ? In such a state, all political animosities 
are inflamed. We confound the mistaken specula- 
tist with the desperate incendiary. We extend the 
prejudices which we have conceived against indivi- 
duals, to the political party, or even to the religious 
sect of which they are members. In this spirit a 
judge declared from the bench, in the last century, 
that poisoning was a Popish trick ; and I should not 
be surprised if bishops were now to preach from the 
pulpit, that sedition is a Presbyterian or a Unitarian 
vice. Those whodiifer fronl us in their ideas of the 
constitution, in this paroxysm of alarm, we consider 
as confederated to destroy it* Forbearance and to- 
leration have no place in our minds ; fo\^ who can 
tolerate opinions, which, according to what the delu- 
ders teach, and rage and fear incline the deluded to 
believe, attack our lives, our properties, and our re- 
ligion ? 
* # * * It * «« * * * * * * ^ 

My next motion was for the insertion of the follow- 
ing words in the Address : — " Trusting that your 
" Majesty will employ every means of negociation, 
" consistent with the honour and safety of this coun- 
*' try, to avert the calamities of wal\" 

My motive in this instance is too obvious to require 
explanation ; and I think it the less necessary to dwell 



APPENDIX. 231 

much on this subject, because, \vith i;espect to the 
desirableness of peace at all times, and more particu- 
larly in the present, I have reason to believe that yom^ 
sentiments do not differ from mine. If we look to 
the country where the cause of war was said princi- 
pally to originate, the situation of the United Provin- 
ces appeared to me to furnish abundance of pruden- 
tial arguments in favour of peace. If we looked to 
Ireland, I saw nothing there that would not discourage 
a wise statesman from putting the connexion between 
the two kingdoms to an unnecessary hazard. At 
home, if it be true that there are seeds of discontent, 
war is the hot-bed in which these -seeds will soonest 
vegetate ; and of all wars, in this point of view, that 
war is most to be dreaded, in the cause of which kings 
may be supposed to be more concerned than their 
subjects. 

I wished, therefore, most earnestly for peace ; and 
experience had taught me, that the voice even of a 
minority in the House of Commons, might not be 
•^wholly without effect, in deterring the King's Minis- 
ters from irrational projects of war. Even upon this 
occasion, if I had been more supported, I am per- 
suaded our chance of preserving the blessings of 
peace would be better than it appears to be at pre- 
sent. 

But if the objections of the violent party appeared 
to me extravagant,those of the more moderate seemed 
wholly unintelligible. Would they make and con- 
tinue war till they can force France to a counter- 
revolution ? No ; this they disclaim. What then is 
to be the termination of the war to which they would 



232 APPENDIX, 

excite us ? I answer confidently, that it can be no 
other than a negociation upon the same principles, 
and with the same men, as that which I recommend, 
I say the same principles, because after war peace 
cannot be obtained but by treaty, and treaty necessa- 
rily implies the independency of the contracting par- 
ties. I say the same men, because though they may 
be changed before the happy hour of reconciliation 
arrives, yet that change, upon the principles above 
stated, would be merely accidental, and in no wise a 
necessary preliminary to peace ; for I cannot sup- 
pose, that they who disclaim making war ybr a change, 
would yet think it right to continue it till a change ; 
or, in other words, that the blood and treasure of this 
country should be expended in a hope that — ^not our 
eiforts — ^but time and chance may produce a new 
government in France, with which it would be more 
agreeable to our Ministers to negociate than with the 
present. And it is further to be observed, that the 
necessity of such a negociation will not in any degree 
depend upon the success of our arms, since the re- 
ciprocal recognition of the independency of contract- 
ing parties is equally necessary to those who exact 
and to those who offer sacrifices for the purpose of 
peace. I forbear to put the case of ill success, because 
to contemplate the situation to which we, and espe- 
cially our ally, might in such an event be placed, is a 
task too painful to be undertaken but in a case of the 
last necessity. Let us suppose, therefore, the skill 
and gallantry ofour sailors and soldiers to be crowned 
with a series of uninterrupted victories, and those 
victories to lead us to the legitimate object of a just 
war, a safe and honourable peace. The terms of such 



APPENDIX. 233 

a peace (I am supposing that Great Britain is to dic- 
tate them) may consist in satisfaction, restitution, or 
even by way of indemnity to us or to others, in cession 
of territory on the part of France. Now that such 
satisfaction may be honourable, it must be made by 
an avowed Minister ; that such restitution or cession 
may be safe or honourable, they must be made by an 
independent power, competent to make them. And 
thus our very successes and victories Vt^iil necessarily 
lead us to that measure of negociation and recogni- 
tion, which, from the distorted shape in which passion 
and prejudice represent objects to the mind of man, 
has by some been considered as an act of humiliation 
and abasement. 

I have reason to believe there are some who think 
my motion unexceptionable enough in itself, but ill- 
timed. The time was not in my choice. I had no 
opportunity of making it sooner ; and, with a view to 
its operation respecting peace, I could not delay it. — 
To me, who think that public intercourse with France, 
except during actual war, ought always to subsist, the 
first occasion that presented itself, after the interrup- 
tion of that intercourse, seemed of course the proper 
moment for pressing its renewal. 
* * * * * **** **4(f*** 

That by acting in the manner proposed, we might 
give ground of offence to those powers, with whom, 
in case of war, it might be prudent to form connexion 
and alliance. 

This objection requires examination. Is it meant 

that our treating with France in its present state will 

offend the German powers, by showing them that 

our ground of qurrel is different from theirs ? If this 

U2 



234 APPENDIX. 

be so, and if we adhere to the principles which we 
have publicly stated, I am afraid we must either of- 
fend or deceive ; and in such an alternative I trust 
the opinion 'is not difficult. 

If it be said, that, though our original grounds of 
quarrel were different, yet we may, in return for the 
aid they may afford us in obtaining our objects, as- 
sist them in theirs of a counter-revolution, and enter 
into an offensive alliance for that purpose— I answer, 
that our having previously treated would be no im- 
pediment to such a measure. But if it were, I freely 
confess that this consideration would have no influ- 
ence with me; because such an alliance, for such a 
purpose I c(»nceive to be the greatest calamity that 
^an befal the British nation : for, let lis not attempt to 
deceive ourselves, whatever possibility or even pro- 
bability there may be of a counter-revolution, from 
internal agitation and discord, the means of produc- 
ing such an event by external force can be no other 
than the conquest of France. The conquest of 
France I ! ! — O calumniated crusaders, how rational 
and moderate were your objects ! — O much-injured 
Louis XIV. upon what slight grounds have you been 
accused of restless and immoderate ambition!—. 
O tame and feeble Cervantes, with what a timid pen- 
cil apd faint colours have you painted the portrait of 
a disordered imagination ! 

I have now stated to you fully, and I trust fairly, 
the arguments that persuaded me to the course of 
conduct which I have pursued. In these consists my 
defence, upon which you are to pronounce ; and I 
hope I shall not be thought presumptuous, when I 
say, that I expect with confidence a favourable 
verdict. 



APPENDIX. 235 

If the reasons which I have adduced fail of con- 
vincing youj I confess indeed that I shall be disap- 
pointed, because to my understanding they appear to 
have more of irrefragable demonstration than can of- 
ten be hoped for in political discussions ; but even 
in this case, if you see in them probability sufficient 
to induce you to believe that, though not strong 
enough to convince yoiu they, and not any sinister or 
oblique motives, did in fact actuate me^ I have still 
gained my cause ; for in this supposition, though 
the propriety of my conduct may be doubted, the 
rectitude of my intentions must be admitted. 

Knowing, therefore, the justice and candour of the 
tribunal to which I hav6 appealed, I wait your de- 
cision without fear — your approbation I anxiously 
desire, but your ^.cquittal I confidently expect. 

Pitied for my supposed misconduct by some of 
my friends, openly renounced by others, attacked 
and misrepresented by my enemies — to you I have 
recourse for refuge and protection : and conscious, 
that if I had shrunk from my duty, I should have 
merited your censure, I feel myself equally certain, 
that by acting in conformity to the motives which I 
have explained to you, I can in no degree have for- 
feited the esteem of the city of Westminster, which 
it has so long been the first pride of my life to enjoy, 
and which it shall be my constant endeavour to pre- 
serve. 



236 APPENDIX. 



CHARACTER OF MR. FOX 

BY R. B.^SHERIDAN, ESQ. 



Crown and Anchor, Sefit. 18, 1806. 

Gentlemen, Electors of Westminster, — In ad- 
dressing you upon this occasion, I am afraid that be- 
fore I proceed to the few observations which I feel it 
my duty to submit to you, I shall be obliged to com- 
mence with a request whicli I am almost ashamed to 
make— for your indulgence, if in consequence of a 
short but sharp indisposition, from which I am just 
recovering, my voice should not be strong enough to 
be clearly audible to the full extent of this large as- 
sembly (applauses). Upon that subject which must 
fill all your minds — upon the merits of that illustri- 
ous man, whose death has occasioned the present 
meeting, I shall, I can say but little. There must be 
some interval between the heavy blow that has been 
struck, and the consideration of its effect, before any 
one (and how many are there of those) who~ have 
revered and loved Mr. Fox as I have done, can speak 
of his death with the feeling but manly composure 
which becomes the dignified regret it ought to inspire 
(applauses). To you,however,gentlemen,it cannot be 
necessary to describe him — for you must have known 
him well. To say any tiling to you at this moment, 
in the first hours of your unburthened sorrows, must 
be unnecessary, and almost insulting. Kis image is 
still present before you — his virtue is in your hearts 
—-his loss is your despair (loud applauses). 

I have seen in one of the Morning Papers, what 
are stated to have been the last words of this great 
man,— .« I die happy j" then, turning to the dearest 



APPENDIX. 237 

object of his affection, " I pity you." But had ano- 
ther moment been allowed him, and had the mo- 
desty of his great mind permitted it, well might he 
have expressed his compassion, not for his private 
friends only, but for the world — well might he have 
said " I pity you, I pity England, I pity Europe, 
I pity the human race." (loud plaudits.) For to 
mankind at large his death must be a source of re- 
gret, whose life was employed to promote their be- 
nefit. He died in the spirit of peace, struggling to 
extend it to the v.orld Tranquil in his own mind, 
he cherished to the last, with a parental solicitude, 
the consoling hope to give tranquillity to nations. 
Let us trust that the stroke of death which has borne 
him from us, may not have left peace, and the dig- 
nified charities of Iiuman nature, as it were, orphans 
upon the world (applau'ses). From this aiHicting 
consideration, I pass to one comparatively insignifi- 
cant, yet it is the question we are met this day to 
consider, namely, the pretensions of those who have 
the presumption to aspire to succeed him. An Ho= 
nourable Friend has proposed me as a person worthy 
of that proud distinction. I cannot deny but that it 
is an object of a*mbition, unmixed, I think, with 
one unv/orthy motive, very near to my heart. I have 
received a friendly, though public, caution, that I 
may risk the confidence and attachment of my friends 
at Stafford, by such a pursuit. I thank my monitor 
for his anxiety on that account, but he may rest as- 
sured that I know my constituents better. I have 
before declined an offer of support for this city 
upon a general election. My gratitude and dcj,- 
votion to my friends at Stafibpd bind me to seek n© 



238 / APPENDIX. 

Other. I have been six times chosen by them, which 
is a proof, at least, that when once elected I am not 
quarrelsome with my constituents. To attend to 
their wishes must of course be an object of my pe- 
culiar solicitude, and to continue to represent tliem, 
the favourite pursuit of my ambition, even more, per- 
haps, than that of the representation of Westminster. 
But it is not inconsistent with that sentiment, nor 
can it be offensive to the feelings of my constituents, 
that I should have offered myself to your notice 
upon this occasion. For my constituents must feel, 
that it is one thing to be the representative of West- 
minster, and another to be the successor of Mr. Fox, 
That, I own, I cannot but consider a§ an object of 
the highest importance, of which, if I were not am- 
bitious, I must be insensible (applauses). Upon the 
present awful occasion, with such feelings as I know 
are clinging to your minds, hoping at most to palli- 
ate a loss irreparable — yet, searching with affection- 
ate diligence how best to do so, to have been the 
object of your deliberate selection, would, I feel, 
have been to me, an inspiring motive, beyond all 
ordinary encouragement, to have shewn myself not 
unworthy of the proud preference you had bestowed 
upon me. I fear hot but that my friends at Stafford 
would have fully entered into this feeling, and not 
have considered my elevation by you as a desertion 
of them. 

Having thus avowed my ambition, or my pre- 
sumption, as some have been heard to call it, I have 
now to speak of my pretences. Egotism is always 
offensive, and I am happy that my learned friend has 
left me little or ixjthing to say on this head. He has 



APPENDIX. 239 

Stated, and I avow and adopt his slatement, that my 
claim to your favour rests on the fact that I have, 
step by step, followed Mr. Fox through the whole 
course of his political career, and to the best of my 
poor abilities, supported him in every one of those 
measures; and in the maintenance of every one of 
those principles which originally recommended him 
to, and so long continued him in, your confidence and 
esteem. It is true there have been occasions upon 
which / have differed witk him — painful recollection 
of the most painful moments of my political life ! 
Nor were there wanting those who endeavoured to 
represent those differences as a departure from the 
homage which his superior mind, though unclaimed 
by hixxiy were entitled to, and the allegiance of friend- 
ship which our hearts all swore to him ; but never 
was the genuine and confiding texture of his soul 
more manifest than on such occasions : he knew that 
nothing on earth could separate qr detach me from 
him ; and he resented insinuations against the sin- 
cerity and integrity of a friend, which he would not 
have noticed had they been pointed against himself. 
With such a man to have battled in the cause of genu- 
ine liberty — with such a man to have struggled 
against the inroads of oppression and corruption—. 
with such an example before me, to have to boast that 
I never in my life gave one vote in Parliament that 
was not on the side of freedom, is the congratulation 
that attends the retrospect of my public life. His 
friendship was the pride and honour of my days. I 
never, for one moment, regretted to share with him 
the difficulties, the calumnies, and sometimes even 
the dangers that attended an honourable course . And 



240 APPENDIX. 

now reviewing my past political life, were the option 
possible that I should retread the path, I solemnly 
and deliberately declare, that I would prefer to pursue 
the same course^ — to bear up under the same pres- 
sure—to abide by the same principles — and remain 
by his side, an exile from power, distinction and 
emolument — rather than be, at this moment, a splen- 
did example of successful servility, or prosperous, 
apostacy — though clothed with powers, honours, 
titles, and gorged with sinecures and we^Jth obtained 
from the plunder of the people (a tumult of applause). 
Grateful as I am for the manner in which you 
are pleased to receive my sentiments, and to es- 
pouse my cause, I think it must have been obvious 
that I have in my mind an eager desire that contest 
and dissension should be avoided on the occasion 
of the present vacancy. How is this to be effect- 
ed but by one of the candidates retiring ? A man's 
pride may be piqued, without his mind being- 
induced to swerve from the cause in which he 
ought to persevere. Illiberal warnings have been 
held out — most unauthoritatively I know — that by 
persevering in the present contest I may risk my 
official situation ; and if I retire, I am aware that 
minds, as coarse and illiberal, may assign the dread 
of that as my motive. To such insinuations I shall 
scorn to make any other reply than a reference to the 
whole of my past political life. I consider it as no 
boast to say, that any one who has struggled throiigh 
such a portion of life as I have, without acquiring an 
office, is not likely to abandon his principles to retain 
one when acquired. To be at all capable of acting 
upon principle, it is necessary that a man shall be in- 



APPENDIX. 241 

dependent ; and to independence, the next best thing 
to that of being very rich, is to have been used to be 
very poor. Independence, however, is not allied to 
wealth, to birth, to rank, to power, to titles, or to ho- 
nours. Independence is in the mind of a man, or' it 
is no where. On this ground were I to decline the 
contest, I should scorn the imputation, that should 
bring the purity of my purpose into doubt. No Min- 
ister can expect to find in me a servile vassal. No 
Minister can expect from me the abandonment of 
any principle I have avowed, or any pledge I have 
given. I know not that I have hitherto shrunk in 
place from opinions that I have maintained while 
in opposition. Did there appear a Minister of differ- 
ent cast from any I know existing — were he to at- 
tempt to exact from me a different conduct, my office 
should be at his service to-morrow. Such a Minister 
might strip me of a situation, in some respect of con- 
siderable emolument — but he could not strip me of 
the proud conviction that I was right — he could not 
strip me of my o^vn self-esteem — he could not strip 
me, I think, of some portion of the confidence and 
good opinion of the people. But I am noticing the 
calumnious threat I have alluded to more than it de- 
serves. There can be no peril, I venture to assert, 
under the present government, in the free exercise 
of a descretion, such as belongs to the present ques- 
tion ; I therefore disclaim the merit of putting any 
thing to hazard. 

If I have missed.the opportunity of obtaining all 
the support I might, perhaps, have had on the pre- 
sent occasion, from a very scrupulous delicacy, 
which I think became and was incumbent upon me, 
X 



242 APPENDIX. 

but which I by no means conceive to have been a fit 
rule for others, I cannot repent it. While the 
slightest aspiration of breath remained on those lips 
so often the channel of eloquence arid virtue — while 
one drop of life's blood beat in that noble heart which 
is now no more, I would not suffer any friend of mine, 
in anticipation of the melancholy event that has oc- 
curred, to institute a canvass. I could not, I ought 
not to have acted otherwise than as I have done. 

Now gentlemen, I come with a very embarrassed 
feeling to that declaration which I yet think you must 
hav€ expected from me, but which I make with 
reluctance, because, from the marked approbation I 
have experienced from you, I fear with reluctance 
you will receive it. I feel myself under the riecessity 
of retiring from this contest. I beseech you to hear 
ine with patience, and in the temper with which I 
address you. There is in true friendship this advan- 
tage. The inferior mind looks to the presiding in- 
tellect as its guide and landmark while living, and to 
the engraven memory of its principles, as a rule of 
conduct after his death. Yet further, still unmixed 
with idle superstition, there may be gained a salutary 
lesson, from contemplating what would be grateful 
to the mind of the departed, were he conscious of 
what is passing here. I solemnly believe that, could 
such a consideration have entered into Mr. Fox's 
last moments, there is nothing his wasted spirits 
would so have deprecated, as a contest of the nature 
w^hich I now disclaim and relinquish. 

It was never ascertained to me, until Monday last, 
after this meeting had been fixed, that Lord Percy 
Y/ould "certainly be a candidate. My friends hesita- 



APPENDIX. 243 

ted in the hope, that it might be left to arbitration 
which candidate should withdraw. That hope has 
failed. I claim the privilege of nearest and dearest 
friendship, to set the example of a sacrifice — compa- 
ratively how small to what it demands — ^nothing 
could ever have induced me to have proceeded to a 
disputed poll on this occasion. The hour is not far 
distant, when an awful kneel shall tell you, that the 
unburied remains of your revered patriot are passing 
through the streets to that sepulchral home, where 
your kings, your heroes, your sages, and your poets 
lie, and where they are to be honoured by the associ- 
ation of his noble remains ; that hour when, however 
the splendid gaudiness of public pageantry may be 
avoided, you — you — all of you will be self-marshalled 
in reverential sorrow, mute, and reflecting on your 
mighty loss. At that moment shall the disgusting 
contest jof an election wrangle break the solemnity 
of the scene ? Is it fitting that any man should over- 
look the crisis, and risk the rude and monstrous con- 
test ? Is it fitting that I should be that man ? Allov/ 
me to hope, from the manner in which you have re- 
ceived the little I have said on this subject, that I 
need add no more. Yet still would my purpose be 
incomplete, and my remonstrance inconsistent, if I 
did not, at the same time that I withdraw myself, 
urge you to take the measures most propitious to 
prevent the tranquillity we propose from being de- 
stroyed by others. To me there seems no mode so 
obvious and decisive, as adding your suffrages to the 
countenance given to the noble earl, who has the sup- 
port of those ministers with whom your late illustri- 
ous representative lived and died in the most perfect 



244 APPENDIX. 

confidence and amity. I turn to him, rejoicing iLai 
I shall not be his antagonist. I turn to him with re- 
spect due to an early character of the highest prom- 
ise — Avith the strong assurance of those qualities 
which engage affection and command respect — on 
these grounds, I, for one, shall give him my cordial 
support. 

Gentlemen, I have now executed a difficult and 
painful task : yet one duty more remains, not a 
painful, but a grateful one — yet one more diffi- 
cult, perhaps, than that which I have left— it is to en- 
deavour to express to you those sentiments of sincere 
and eager gratitude, which your voluntary proffered 
support and your indul'^ent acceptance of what I have 
this day submitted to you, and which is indelibly im- 
printed on a heart not formed to be unthankful. As 
a public man, I feel that your approbation rewards 
my past effi^rts, and it shall be the animation of my 
future endeavours. 



VINIS^ 




